Originally Posted by
ashill
That's partly what segments are for, isn't it? (Since smaller airports with high fares in low fare buckets tend to be served only/mostly with short flights to nearby hubs.)
Those who fly 75k EQPs on 0.5 EQP fares on 1000 mile (average) routes have easily passed the 120 EPS threshold for EXP.
The problem with how AA treats segments is that they're all 1 segment credit per segment, regardless of fare class. Considering that many of these smaller cities have extortion fares, AA should add a segment bonus for premium fares at least (B fares and above). UA credits B fares and above segments at 1.5x, which makes them a bit more palatable.
That would throw a bone to those that qualify on segments, especially shorter hauls that now have to do 20 extra segments per year for EXP.