Originally Posted by
GetSetJetSet
You would think a better compromise since they cut the # of SWU's in half would be the high clearance rate with the current J and FL lounges since only their top tier elites earn SWU at all, and 4 SWU only = 2 roundtrips. Would be a nice way of incentivizing loyalty. I imagine many of them would still go unused and AA wouldn't get crushed too hard. If people say 100% of their SWU are clearing anyway, then AA isn't losing $ by letting us clear at booking, but they take away our anxiety and make us feel more valued.
Perhaps ... but at least one poster suggests that if they aren't available at booking, the poster will just buy a premium cabin ticket so it would be a bad business decision.
Since I've had all but a couple of SWU's clear over the past five years, I don't have a lot of anxiety although I understand your point.