Originally Posted by
redtop43
I'm EXP so not that focused on low-level status, but I think that what Gold mainly gives you is a free checked bag, earlier boarding, and discounted MCE 24 hours out. It also gives you seat selection at time of booking and access to "preferred" seats, which are often nothing special but at least you can book a window or aisle, and can get seats together if you're traveling with someone. It used to give same-day standby but everyone gets that now. I will be dropping in status but I would always want at least plat to get MCE at time of booking.
I think the AA MC we have gives us free checked bags and some sort of priority boarding (not that it matters much, as I am in a wheelchair and we usually travel in F or J, so we are usually among the very first people on the plane). On shorter flights, we do fly in economy, so there's where it might make a difference, especially if I can book us seats together. That's a nice feature. Ultimately, it's a little bit sad that we have come to a place in customer service where you have to be one of the airline's elite passengers to be able to book seats together with your spouse when you book a flight, but I guess that is where we are.