Actually, for Plats and ExecPlats in AAdvantage, the earning ability is much greater than CX's own program -- save for route bonuses -- since one gets double miles. This certainly increases one's account balance. I think the only major change -- most awards rise by 5K or 10K, and these are for J/C and F awards -- is found in removing Africa from eligible CX routing. Only BA can now be used, over the Atlantic. Otherwise, one must redeem two separate awards on CX. The current CX award in F now goes for 140K, while the new one would require a 125K award to HKG and another 140K to JNB! The new award on BA would require 200K in F.