I'm a lowly silver skyteam elite this year but tbh, I can't see much difference between elite and non-elite except the mileage bonus. I haven't (touch wood) had anything go wrong (in 150k of transatlantic flying over the past 18 months) so I haven't had to ask for anything based on status. IMHO the fact your flying American, a top tier airline, should give you some confidence in things going well.