I agree with alot of what was stated above. I switched to CO because they are a more customer-friendly airline, and offer a better product overall. If not for the fact that I make all of my purchases on CO's website, I would not have switched, because I agree that 50% EQM's is a big , and a deal-breaker for me.

And thankfully, I can fly via IAH or CLE and avoid EWR in many cases.

In return for putting up with CO's negatives, I receive 125% bonus EQM's for CO flights (100% bonus + 25% bonus for having a CO Presidential Plus Master Card), and a better premium product for those times when I do get upgraded, or upgrade with miles, and a better (albeit less comfortable) Y product when I am stuck in Y......which is most of the time.

I'm in the process of car shopping now, and what I have learned during this process can be applied to airline frequent flyer programs as well: You're never going to find the "perfect" car which has every feature you want, so you just have to buy what is overall the best fit.