I would go with United and while they do *Net blocking, the flights to Europe and the west cost are more available than AA in my opinion. There are 2 LH flights a day, one Swiss and you can get to the left coast in E+, as well. Its not perfect.

Alternatively, you can maintain 50K levels on both this upcoming year and see how the merger goes.

I'm US Plt and am considering switching to United... the only advantage to US is you can book most *A Euro trips cheap if you use the ANA tool! The domestic redemption stinks!