Among the reasons that I see the change from SWUs to GMUs as a negative is that doing 6 to 8 international BE trips each year means my total airfare for the year will now be higher. After I do 2 trips with the GMUs (at whatever fare if I can find OP now competing with more DMs) then I must hope for a reasonable Z fare which is often not available for my trips (locations, dates).

My BE trips are a medical necessity (DVT, PE) and most fares above Z would be beyond my budget so I would not be able to purchase such tickets. This is a professional loss in addition to losing DM status with DL.

I will have enough SWUs to survive 2014 (I never 'throw away' any SWUs) but I will be watching closely how AA would address my particular concerns starting in 2015. I have already started comparing notes with the AA guru at our office.