Hi, I read that thread but it mostly dealt with annual mileage (and classes of travel) way beyond the level I'm at.

Unless I am mistaken, AA *do* give you full miles for discount economy; they give 0.5 qualifying points per mile for elite status though.

Since you can qualify for elite status on AA with *either* points or miles, flying a lot of miles in discount economy is still fine on AA - see my example above where I am barely getting silver on QF but am nearly Platinum on AA for the same itinerary.