AA lifetime Saphire status is very easy to get without ever flying AA -- just spend USD 2 million on your credit card. A bit harder to earn flying (150 trans-Atlantic round-trips in F, or equivalent). Whilst on QF it is easy to earn flying (40 trans-Atlantic F round-trips, or equivalent, or 9 AONEx RTWs) but impossible to earn via credit card. And that is the difference in a nutshell. So you decide which you'd rather do: spend 2 million or fly 9 AONEx's.