A bit of an awkward thread title, but my company is transferring me from YYC to IAH late Feb for a 3-5 year term. The question is, should I or can I stick with AC Altitude, or since I am now based in the US should I be changing to Mileage Plus?

In 2013 I am an E50K, and in 2014 I will be an E75k. The majority of my travel is for work, however with my new role unfortunately that won’t be the case. I believe going forward the most of my flights will be for leisure but still somewhat funded by the company as the expat package provides a yearly flight allowance. I plan to use the allowance to explore the US as we can, and quite possibly TA flights to visit friends in Europe. That is the plan, but I would wager a guess we will be flying the inlaws down to visit more than I am hoping

I valued the priority check-in/boarding plus the lounges the most. The eupgrades are also a nice bonus, however if I truly wanted to fly J, I would simply pay to ensure I had the seat secured. In fact I nominated my wife (who has no status) and she used the majority of my upgrades in 2013. If I switch to Mileage Plus, can I still use my Altitude status to access the lounges and receive the priority boarding?

Just to be clear, I appreciate no loyalty program is perfect and I understand the frustrations with the recent changes. However, I have only had status for 3 years and never knew the “glory days” so to speak. I have been quite happy with AC, and my consideration to leave the program is due to a location change, not out of protest

Thx

Kavie