Originally Posted by
elCheapoDeluxe
Even if I continue to fly 50% with AS, I struggle to see a downside of AA EXP vs AS Gold or 75K. I hadn't even considered just flying on points instead of paid. Would equate to more credit card spend required but makes more sense than the half million AS miles I'm already sitting on and growing rapidly - I'll have to think about that.
For domestic flights AA awards are really good. 7k miles for short flights and 8-12k for longer ones is the norm (though that might depend on your routes). I fly PHX to LAX or BUR and back a bit and it's often the choice between 7k miles or $150-$180 one way when booking within a week or two of the trip (further out they are cheaper, especially in basic economy, but I don't like booking basic economy too far out since I often end to wanting to make changes when I book more than a month out). A fully refundable ticket for 7k miles is a great deal IMO.
For international I kind of split between AA and AS, usually using AS miles when I want a stopover. I'm not really earning AS miles any more though so I'll probably run out in 2-3 years.
Getting off topic here, but if you have even more business spend to throw around, $140k on a Hyatt CC will get you globalist (but realistically it would require a lot less since the award nights count towards status as well). So you can have your airline and hotel status taken care of with just business spend, and lots of points to spend on flights and stays.
Basically, as the rules change, you need to adapt to them. There's nothing wrong with qualifying based on spend if it makes sense for your circumstances. This isn't a moral or ethical question; it's just a business relationship. If AA chooses to reward CC spend there's nothing wrong with getting those rewards. I strongly suspect that other airlines will introduce something similar in the upcoming years.