So, as we know, there was much discussion about the "major changes" really being little more than an across-the-board devaluation. I wasn't sure, as I didn't see any really specific numbers that would make it clear. I did see that award availability has increased since a couple of years ago, and the increased availability seems to have held, at least so far.

I have an upcoming RTW MR in F coming up in about a month; and I thought that it might be interesting and instructive to compare the earnings and benefits of the two programs that I use for OneWorld, AA and QR, to see what the real story was with the "devaluation."

A few introductory notes which will help you understand my analysis:

1. I spend most of my time in Thailand, but go to BOS five or six times per year. So I'm looking at 5-6 roundtrips annually, BKK-BOS.
2. My two preferred routings are CX (BKK-HKG-BOS) and QR (BKK-DOH-BOS).
3. I consider QR J more or less equal (at least in terms of desirability for me) to CX F. The bed in CX F is unbeatable, IMO; but QR wins on pretty much everything else. So I'm perfectly happy with either.
4. The HKG and DOH airport experiences, at least for me, while very different, are roughly equivalent in terms of desirability. I like and enjoy them both. Same with the lounges.
5. Current redemption rates are 110K AA miles for CX F and 169K QR miles for QR J, both one way BKK/BOS.
6. I assumed my current elite status levels, AA PLT PRO and QR PLT for elite status levels. My AA earnings will be a little higher since I would reach EXP at some point towards the end of my itinerary (if I credit to AA), but I did not take that into account in the calculation.

How I did the calculations: For AA, I used Milecalc.com to calculate the BIS miles, then applied the multipliers listed on AA.com for elite status bonus and class of service bonus. I used the formulas on the website to calculate bonuses on a segment-by-segment and carrier-by-carrier basis, again using the info provided on AA.com in the AAdvantage section of the website. For QR, I used the QCalculator.

Itinerary: SEZ-LHR-LAX-JFK-HKG-NRT-CMB-NRT-SIN-SYD-DOH-CDG-DOH-LHR-JNB. I did not include in either of the calculations the earnings from a side trip LAX-SEA-LAX I have to make for one day while I'm in Los Angeles.

Fare Basis: A for those routes with F service, D otherwise.

Standard of Measure: I don't care about how many miles are earned because you still have to factor in the redemption rate to understand what one has really earned on a flight. What I look at is how many one-way tickets the flight/itinerary gets me on a redemption. (I don't think that I've explained this clearly, but it will become more clear below.)

Credit to QR: The itinerary earned 114,351 QMiles, equivalent to ⅔ of a one way ticket BOS/BKK in QR J.

Credit to AA: The itinerary earned 135,809 spendable AAdvantage miles, equivalent to 1¼ one way tickets BOS/BKK in CX F.

So there's the answer. The devaluation was both real and quantifiable. I'll be crediting to AA.