Thanks everyone...my decision between AA and UA for major allegiance is now swinging back to UA, as AA degrades the privileges (and as I am expert in computer science, it's clear to me that the degradation is for no meaningful reason), aided by UA's partial giveback of limited international upgrades from any published fare.

Also, the doubt about whether MRTC will survive is quite troublesome, the notion that MRTC could always be relied on, regardless of flight, is a real biggie to me.