Unless I see a future option 4 (or 5,6...) for SE, I will most certainly cap out at E in 2004. My usual travel patterns will put me at that level by March at which point I will attempt to achieve status at either LH or UA.

Another option will be using up the 1.5 million AP miles in the bank after E status and flying gratus (that would be AP's version of gratus) for the rest of the year. No blackouts are the only significant remaining perk for SE and with the rumblings we hear it appears that is also going to change.

I wonder how AC would respond if J class was full of SE flyers (future E's) on award tickets for a significant portion of the year.