Originally Posted by
tp0503
I booked my first American flight in a long time today for a weekend trip home, and it feels pretty good! They were cheaper so I went for it, instead of paying a premium to stick with Delta as I usually do.
What will I lose by not going Delta as a Silver? No free bag check (I don't think it will be the end of the world), and possibly an exit row seat. Since there's no quick check in or better boarding, I think I'll be just fine! Turns out I have 20k just sitting in my AA account, so will get a free flight from this. Cool!
I have been flying AA recently (due to the route) as a non-elite and it's pretty acceptable. I have been able to improve my seating on a couple of occasions (including snagging an exit) by using the airport kiosk, and I found the overhead space to be OK even as a group 5-6 boarder. This may be due to very zealous enforcement of carry-on size regulations at the gate. If your bag doesn't pass muster -- and a lot don't -- it is checked, but at no charge to you.
I'll probably get to Gold on AA by the end of the summer so I won't have to worry about even the above.