I would definately travel on AA and pay the extra for a ticket which earns you the miles. However, even more important is the miles you will earn towards elite status. If you take the Platinum challenge then all your trips will have a 100% bonus for the rest of this year. So depending on how many miles you will fly for the rest of this year, those 17K miles could potentially turn into many more. At that point, $200 is definitly worth it. I wouldn't think twice.