Originally Posted by
simonl98
Yeah now I think AA should be better for me. I checked miles required to redeem a first class ticket to Asia Region 2(how AA classify Asian destinations), and you need 10k less AS miles than AA miles. That's why I think AS miles is more valuable. But as what you pointed out, AA loyalty point can be earned even without flying. I think this is a huge advantage over AS. I think I'll stick to AA now.
I wouldn’t look so much at the redemption side as the earning side to compare the value of crediting to AS vs crediting to AA. In AS’s program, you earn miles as a multiple of miles flown (a multiple that is always at least one for AS-marketed flights but can be much less than one for partner-marketed flights). In AA’s program, when flying AA, you earn “miles” as a multiple of dollars spent. That can result in wildly different earnings, far more different than the 10% difference in redemption cost you mentioned above. So I’d do your best to compare earnings in Mileage Plan to earnings in AAdvantage based on flights you’re likely to fly.
It’s not all that easy, and depending on your spend habits, the outcome could go either way. But, all else being equal and with plenty of caveats, it’s most often best to collect miles with the airline you fly most rather than a partner.
You can earn redeemable miles with credit cards from both airlines. AS’s credit card miles don’t count towards elite status.