Originally Posted by
lsquare
I want to do this strictly for the elite bonus on partner flights. I'm more interested travelling abroad than within North America.
Just keep in mind that, while the "list price" on the AS partner redemption chart tends to be good, if you're looking for premium long-haul awards, overall availability is worse than most other airlines, as AS is not part *A, ST, or OW (and thus has a smaller set of partners). Compounding the issue is the fact that AS has no long-haul flights itself, so unlike with most programs you don't have the back-up option of paying a higher price in miles to access better award availability. Bottom line is that AS miles are most useful if you have a lot of flexibility in destination and schedule, or can redeem directly on AS metal.