Cam, I'm wondering the same thing myself. This year I'm SE for the first time. Until now I've always been Elite. It should be interesting to see if the benefits are noticeable. I'm sure it depends very much on your personal travel habits.

Empress, some responses to your comments ...

Upgrade at time of reservation vs. Upgrade at 72 hrs.

Sounds good, but I'm trying to think if I booked a even single flight more than 72 hours in advance in the past year. I can only think of one and I paid for J class anyway.

Upgrade on all AC metal flights from Y,M,B,H,V vs only domestic from those fares for Elites.

I can upgrade Y/M as Elite anyway. I can't live with the restrictions on the other classes so that won't help me.

No blackout dates on reward travel even in J class.

I rarely use awards. Maybe I should cash in some of my millions of miles this year. As SE I'll have better access to award seats (right?)

Use of the SE desk reducing the wait time

Despite all the posts complaining about this, I don't remember ever having to wait more than a few seconds as Elite.

What I'm wondering is whether it might be better for me to attain middle status in two carriers (perhaps AC and AA) rather than shoot for SE again.

Any thoughts?