Very helpful, thank you. As an aside, what is your hotel strategy when traveling for these trips, given you're already Marriott Ambassador?

I'm Marriott Titanium, but mixed on staying at over-priced Marriott properties in Asia & Europe, just for the free lounge access / breakfast for 2 (my family travel party will be bigger than that), and maybe an upgrade to a suite (although not guaranteed), vs using AA hotels to get a suite at a non-Marriott property and buy our own breakfast as we choose. Deciding between giving Marriott more money for more devalued Marriott points, get some limited perks in Europe / Asia, or use AA hotels to get more LP to keep my LP points higher for maximizing odds of free AA upgrades domestically or SWU upgrades internationally.