My travel pattern puts me squarely in GO and I've been there since the MPC change in 2016. Under the old rules, I'd just come short or barely make DM. I only do LH JFK/EWR-HKG 6/7 times a year. The only thing stopping me from ditching MPC for AA is upgrading PEY to J. Company will only reimburse me for PEY and I'm not prepared to pay the fare difference except in special circumstances if I can snag an I fare on the cheap. I have enough miles banked between asia miles and AMEX rewards that I can still afford the 70K miles needed. If I switched to AA, I'd probably make EX PLT and stay there quickly. However, I thought one of the benefits of GO was higher priority on the upgrade waitlist but since June 22, it seems like getting upgrade confirmation is a little more difficult. If MPC gets more stingy with upgrade awards, I may just flip to AA and deal with PEY and hope for the occasional op-up as a OWE.

This year, I might get to DM, I'll be a little short of points (1135) but I'm hoping they might bump me up none the less. If I happen to make DM, I'll probably stick with MPC another year and enjoy being DM. Then prepare for my inevitable downgrade and switch to AA.

Arrival lounge doesn't matter to me, only the other supposed benefits of higher priority. What worries me is a further erosion of these benefits. Also first tier of GO mid-tier upgrade is poor, seriously, 2 lounge passes! They could do a lot better with this. Getting to 800CP is no easy feat for some of us. That reward should be much better.