This whole thread is so stupid. It's just absurd to me that people are jumping through the hoops that they are to get status on AA of all airlines (any U.S. airline for that matter)! If it were Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, ANA, JAL, etc., I could see the value but ... AA? C'mon people. Your money has to be better spent elsewhere. The incremental value from P-Pro to EP cannot be worth thousands of dollars unless you fly A LOT, but then you wouldn't need to spend thousands of dollars in a shopping portal ...

Reading through the machinations people are going through to get status makes it obvious that this whole system is ridiculous and unsustainable. U.S. airlines cannot make money off flying people, so they have to play these credit card games, but for how long? What happens when people get smart and start realizing that status isn't worth it anymore because everyone has it, and everyone has the credit card. What happens when people start realizing that their CC spend is better put on transferable points or cash-back cards?

Couple these problems with the fact that AA will likely continue to devalue award redemptions both on their own metal and partners, and I wonder what these programs (DL, UA, AA) will look like in 10 years.