Thanks for that detailed post Hyperacusis. ^

I have been doing a lot of domestic flying on AA and have been most impressed with the level of service and the treatment recieved as a BA Gold. So much so, that I am seriously looking at the AA ffp as my "other" OW ffp. My only concern is the interim qualification period when I would be flying AA with a basic AA ffp number and no OW status!

I need to read up on the program to understand the fastest way to move to Plat/EXP using long haul J/F flights. Unlike BA, I think AA elite status is more a function of flown BIS miles and somewhat surprisingly, if I understand correctly, there is no distinction between paid J and paid F when earning qualification miles. Or have I misunderstood this somehow?