only pro for ua over others is that at ua checkin op may have a chance for premier accelerator..reports of 10k pqm for $700. if op will be doing a fair amount of y travel domestically i'd say 1k is worth it (cpu + free food+booze + high irrop priority + more rpu) but that--and whether accelerator is even worth it--is another thread(s). i imagine that op is non-us so prob doing a fair amount of long haul travel, so plat<>1k i see no diff other than the gpu. op also says that upgrades are important for long trips, so maybe gpus next year are worth it.

otherwise if you're short you're short so earning pqm isn't a big deal then. focus on rdm. eihter way i'd go with br and ya what kacee says about upgrading. you're not going to get anything different on *a than ua as a plat other than maybe higher chance of an op-up (1/1000) and guaranteed e+.

i am confused by the status matching bit, what does that have to do with one journey and being 6000 short of 1k?