I travel for work on all paid J from NYC to Europe 1x/month (1/3rd to LHR, 1/3rd to ZRH, 1/3rd other) and possibly 1 paid J to Asia. I am EXP on AA (highest level) and will requalify for 2006 based on this travel but AA's J flight to Europe are among my least favorite. Would it make sense to split my miles to get the 2nd highest elite status on 2 airlines (say BA for example for that lovely J-class seat ^ )? What I value most is priority check-in and boarding, the most comfortable seat in long-haul, and best service (in-flight and on the ground). I have about 400K AA miles, 50K on BA, another 50K on CO and have never redeemed a mile in 10 yrs of travel.

I have debated this with another FTer who thinks I'm crazy to split miles b/c of the 8 system-wide UGs I lose by not being EXP but the only time I would miss them is on the 1 or maybe 2 int'l trips i do for personal (i could always UG with miles+co-pay).

Should I split miles and attain the 2nd highest level on 2 airlines (or possibly 3)? or stick with one? If i split miles, which airlines should I use?

Thanks,
AASigMan