I've been flying a little AS for these past two years. I've always understood Flyertalk's AS fliers to be a pretty happy bunch - theirs was for years seen as a great all-purpose program with some unique benefits such as decent ties to both Skyteam and Oneworld. But reading the forum these days, I get the sense that you and I missed the heyday and are experiencing a watered-down version of what it was a short time ago.

My initial attraction to them was a good place to credit Emirates flights. Excellent EQM/RDM rates and solid class-of-service bonuses, even when you buy discount-J fares. Then they started expanding in MCI so I've been using them for my regular PDX and SEA trips. Throw in an occasional SAN or SFO trip and it's pretty easy to requal MVP with or without the Emirates flights.

I still like 'em for having an honest mile-for-mile program with minimums and fare bonuses starting in the midrange coach fares. I like that base MVP actually works for upgrades on midcons and almost always gets me an extra-legroom seat even when F doesn't clear. Also love the E175s to PDX and like the crazy-cheap Hawaii fares, although it's mildly annoying to have to book them as multiple itins through SAN.

The frequency gap between AS and WN isn't a big issue for me. It's thin from MCI to all of the west coast cities on either carrier. WN has an edge in terms of more total one-stop permutations if the IRROPS get really bad.

To me it feels like a temporary relationship though. I'm about at an RDM level where I can redeem 2 R/T Cathay seats in J. I just have a bad feeling that the whole structure of this program, both the earning and the partner award levels, won't last forever. Right now, they're still digesting VX. By 2020, it wouldn't surprise me to see a program overhaul that has me back on WN for everything domestic west coast and finding somewhere else to credit Emirates flights.