[shayes, you may find the following thread useful, with some pros and cons about AM/MPO vs AAdvantage:
should I keep MPO or switch to AAdvantage ??

Thanks for the tip to read this thread...for a while in reading it I thought I should join AA and could use my long-haul miles from HKG to USA for intra-Asia flights, as I mentioned I now live in HK. I did see a note in there though, that AA miles are only redeemable, for the most part, on CX for flights originating in the US.

Bummer...I hate the fact that MPO has no status bonus. I just flew Chicago-HKG business class and received 11,000 bonus miles. I think I'll stay Star Alliance and buy my vacation flights within Asia...tough w/ three kids though!

Steve