Thank you all for the tips and perspective- I shared your advice with her and she is happier with the situation knowing her options.

apologies moderators- I wasn't sure if this belonged in miles&points

She will probably stick with the original ticket as she's not sure when she'll next be on AA and AA does not seem to have matched the DL fare. I will read up on status matches with AA or the Platinum challenge, but I think we will both be trying for MVPG on AS so that we can earn EQMs and 100% RDM bonus on AA and DL rather than choosing OW or ST. It would be nice, though, to be part of a larger network and have access to departure lounges.

I wouldn't have told my GF that the fares had dropped, but I spilled the beans when I suggested FAI-CDG as a positioning flight for meeting up with my dad in BKK. As of yesterday, the cheapest way i've found to Bangkok is through Paris and Bahrain.

clacko, her routing is FAI-SEA-JFK-CDG, 5/31-6/15.
AA's fare is $1343 a/i, DL has several routings for $960 (last night $937)

City Pair Fare Basis Code Flight
FAI to SEA NR21N 6983
SEA to JFK NR21N 268
JFK to CDG NKX14E2C 44
CDG to JFK NKX14E2C 45
JFK to SEA NR21N 269
SEA to FAI NR21N 6824

at least with AA's routing, she'll get a couple thousand more EQMs than DL's routings.