My travel pattern consists mainly of rtw in D or A, starting at JNB. I also use a few GIG/JFK/GIG flights on the side per year on AA or JJ, usually in discount economy with upgrade. I fly very few US domestic legs on AA, but if I do it’s usually discount economy. It has been reported on FT that the AA agent in South Africa (Mindpearl) will no longer issue rtw’s for non-residents of SA but that BA will do so. Given the new AAdvantage program, especially the restriction of 75,000 miles per ticket, would it be more advantageous in the future to issue my tickets with BA, but still credit the miles to my AAdvantage account? Would that get around the reduced mileage earning on the new AAdvantage, while preserving the SWUs and domestic upgrades on American? I suppose the carrier-imposed fees on a BA-issued ticket would be much higher than for AA. Are AA SWUs only valid with AA-issued tickets, or can they be used for AA flights without regard to ticket stock? Would there be any other disadvantages? Or advantages?