Oh, I so wish I could, Boogie711. But there are virtually no flights from PHL on AA, and so my domestic travel would be nearly impossible. I tried some sample flights on Kayak, and it was a non-starter. I think I'm stuck with US or UA. Am sort of leaning toward UA, based on what people are saying. I don't understand this thing about only being able to use upgrades on W, though - when I look at the site, it says:

Global Premier Upgrades are available on all United and Copa-operated flights system-wide.

They can be used on all paid, published fares except:

- Z and P fare classes, for upgrades from United Business® to United First® or United BusinessFirst® to United Global FirstSM on all flights
- S, T, K, L, G and N fare classes, for upgrades from United Economy® to the next higher cabin on most long-haul international flights

I'm working on a flight to the UK for June right now, and those are coming up as booking class H, so wouldn't they be eligible for upgrade if, theoretically, i was already 1K?

Also, it actually looks like I'll be about 4K sort of 1K, factoring in all the travel I know of. Are there any other ways to bridge the gap, other than mileage runs? Can you buy up to 1K with UA?