After initially deciding to dump Marriott and now having a few days to think abou it, I decided that I will stick with Marriott. Marriott has been good to me over the years, as have AA. I live near EWR and AA just is not convenient for me, therefore, I have been flying them a lot less than in the past (no flights so far this year). AA will remain my airline of choice, but convenience and cost (therefore cash back/Schwab is now in play) are now the deciding factors. So with AA LT Plat now out of the question or markedly more difficult to attain, I think I will just stick with Marriott and use Marriott points for weekend getaways with the fam - I know they will appreciate this.

I started rethinking SPG once Amex decide to cut/slash/decimate my CL on my SPG Amex - this after approving me for the Amex Premier Rewards card so for now, no more business to Amex.