You don't say your itinerary but consider a daytime flight, e.g. AA to London, leaves 9am, arrives 10:30pm local time, or 4:30pm to you. Priceline a Heathrow hotel overnight (around $75) and you'll be ready to connect to wherever the next morning. Plus, for the time being, AA still has MRTC on its ORD-LHR 777s. Combine it with a Gold (or Plat) challenge and you'll be able to get the exit rows in advance in the future.