Totally agree! AS earnings on Partners have been on a spiral downwards since at least 2018 when earning on most Y classes dropped below 100% & the loss of the 25% COS on J on LA which came into effect July 1st, 2018. January 1st, 2020 brought all but a few Y classes below 100% on QF. The 10% COS on CX PE E class found it's demise on June 1st., 2020. For that 10% COS you now need to buy full fare PE in W class. Effective July 1st, 2020, EK W class in Main, which was usually a minor upfare, used to earn 100%; now only 75%. Discount Bussiness in P (former F fare class) & H (a'la carte, former Y class fare) come with zero COS. In fairness though, some EK Main fare classes have been elevated from 50% into that new 75% grouping.

It was becoming increasingly more difficult to earn 75K on AS+Partners requiring 90K. Optimizing your travels and looking at total out of pocket expenditures, it would be easier to earn ExPlat on AA on Alliance/Partners than 90K AS+Partner even with the EQD requirement and your AA Alliance/Partner EQM earnings earn towards lifetime status at 1MM. Lowering 75K to include Partners brings AS top Elite Status more in-line with AA ExPlat.

I still maintain that the Elites Tiers, as they exist, are comparative and a fourth Tier is unnecessary. The revenue component of Mileage Plan, while not a specific dollar amount, is very much built into the EQM earnings model on Partners, including AA. If you only fly domestically, AS wants you to fly their medal or on AA metal they are marketing. AA BE now has full Elite Benefits but starting January 1st, 2021 all BE fares will earn Zero EQM/EQD. On AS, Elites don't get upgrades & limited seat selection but still earn full EQM & Elite bonuses. AS won't market an AA BE fare.

I am happy to see the AS metal requirements too. That is long overdue. That will alleviate the MP Members who strickly use MP as a bank for AS' favourable award redemption fares; their Elite bonus disappears and they won't earn OWE. If they want to make a trip into AS' network and fly 6 segments, all the power to them. Additionally, without status, they will be limited on how many miles they can purchase reducing the number who "broker" awards to their families.

James