You know, I had the opportunity last night to do some thinking, as I was trying to reschedule my holiday travel following a schedule reset and cancellation by UL. Maybe QRPC isn't as bad as I thought. The two primary things I want out of a mileage program are redemptions for free tickets, and elite status. I decided after the QRPC program enhancements that I would go back to AAdvantage. Last night, I spent several hours trying to redo my holiday travel following UL's winter schedule adjustments and the havoc they caused for me. I ended up getting something which works just fine, -- QR award tickets at the regular redemption rates (i.e., not Q2) BKK-DOH-BOS and IAD-DOH-BKK on the dates I wanted. I would have thought that the Friday before Christmas and the day after New Year's would be blacked out, but there was plenty of availability.

That got me thinking, so I cranked up my calculator. I assumed that I'd be flying QR anyway (infinitely better J product and prices in the same ballpark); my other choices are really AA and JL. Now, on a bottom line basis, I posit that for people like myself, 80%+ of whose flying is on the same route, we really don't care about the number of miles we earn, what we really care about is how many trips we have to take to earn a free one, and how many trips we have to take to earn OWE status. I also assumed that when I'm redeeming AA miles, I would redeem for CX F, which I consider more or less comparable to QR J. Yes, the QR J bed isn't as fluffy as CX F, but the food is much better on QR J, so I call it a wash. Sure, some will say that it's an unfair comparison, but I really don't care for J on CX, AA or JL. I'm not saying that you have to see things the same way that I do, this is just how I feel about things.

And interestingly, regardless of whether I credit to AAdvantage or QRPC, if my paid flying is on QR, it takes roughly 3.6-3.8 trips to get a one-way redemption ticket in J on QR (if I'm crediting to QRPC) or F on CX (if I'm crediting to AAdvantage), and roughly the same number of trips to earn OWE status on each airline.

Other factors: QRPC PLT (OWE) also gives me access to AA Admirals Clubs, saving $450 annually. (Yes, I still do some domestic U.S. travel, too. typically in Y because they're shorter flights.) But AAdvantage gives me the opportunity to redeem for CX F. Unfortunately, however, CX F is far from what it once was.

So I'm now not so sure that I'm going to switch to AAdvantage. My next long trips with paid tickets aren't until February, so I have time. But if award availability continues to improve, I may just stay with QR.

I would be interested in the opinion of others here on FT. Whaddya think?