Originally Posted by
ckidder331
UA
100% PQM on deep discount fares
AA
50% PQM on deep discount fares
that's my biggest holdup. I tend to do a few Intl J trips and get well into Gold territory but would fall short had I flown AA and not UA
This isn't true at all. It's 100% PQM on all AA fares. It's 50% *EQPs* but all AA / US flights earn 100% EQMs on every fare class that is sold.
You would have no problem reaching Gold on AA - if you're flying J you get 1.5 *EQPs* on all J fare buckets (excluding upgraded Y fares) and you also get 125% *EQMs* on all J fare buckets (again excluding upgraded Y fares) and 150% *EQMs* on all F fare buckets.
Further you can earn your status on EQMs, EQPs, or Segments, so the fact that you only only 0.5 *EQPs* on some fare buckets is irrelevant if you're due to qualify on miles or segments. EQPs are just an alternate way to reward HVFs that fly 4-5 times a year but are buying J/F fares so they provide 1.5 EQPs so you can achieve elite status from 4- 5 flights a year if you're buying paid F / J every flight.
Your math in the above example is also flawed. If you bought paid J on AA you're getting 125% EQMs (not the 100% you show) and your UA calcuations are also flawed. Your calculations suggest you make 250% on a UA J flight (you show 150% + 100%) but it's really only 150% EQMs and then 100% RDMs which do not count towards elite status and are irrelevant in this comparison.
So a one-way J flight to HKG is actually this (on a hypothetical JFK - HKG flight for both):
UA: 150% * 8072 (EQMs) + 8072 * 175% (RDMs)
AA: 100% * 8072 (EQMs) + 8072 * 125% (RDMs) or 1.5 * 8072 (EQPs) + 8072 * 125% (RDMs)