Originally Posted by
thepla
Glad segments has become a part of the discussion. It brings up another AAdvantage to AA.
You can become EXP for 100 segments or 100 points.
With DL at 140 that is 40% more segments; compared to 25% miles.
The people on this board that talk about buying may "F" and BC tickets could even get to EXP faster because of the 1.5 bump per mile to get to points. In theory, not likely though, you could become EXP with 66,667 miles all at the 1.5 point mark. That is actually a little more than half of what DL wants.
One thing not mentioned is that for flyers who buy a combination of premium as well as low-end fares, AA's program is not that great for reaching EXP. If you choose to focus on obtaining EXP by Miles, you get screwed when you buy Business or First Class or even higher-end Economy tix (you still get 100% miles, no class-of-service bonus EQM unlike 1.5X MQMs at DL or UA); if you choose to get to EXP by points, you're screwed when you buy low-end fares that only qualify for 50% points even though the premium fares qualify for 1.5X EQPs.