I'd have to agree. AS isn't a national carrier like "the big four". They have to pick and choose their spots, and what they picked and chose is the West Coast, and given the exigent realities (DL gunning for SEA, UA wanting SFO to itself, WN wanting to keep the intra-CA market plus SAN and SJC to itself), AA is the only domestic option for a partner. It's a shame AA is being tightasses. About all you can hope is that as time goes by, they loosen up, Francis, similar to what DL has done along the way. I could see them moving towards opening up a lot of low-value advance domestic Y fares like DL has (and AS does)... if someone redeems 5k miles for a $90 ticket or 12.5k miles for a $150 ticket, this isn't a huge tragedy, because those miles come off the books. That person is likely invested in your program because they got something for it, as opposed to having a huge mileage balance and nowhere to spend it without spending at AAnytime.

I also accrue (mildly) in WN and a *A program because options, baby, it's nice to have them.