I’m in a similar situation. I have been CO elite for many years (excluding a 4 year switch to UA in the mid 90’s). In the past I have usually been Gold or Platinum, but this year I find myself only a lowly silver. I have done 4 round trips on AA so far this year but I still have not decided what to do. My first problem was not reading the FlyerTalk AA board and learning about the Elite challenge until it was too late, so I have been flying AA without any status. This is what I have observed so far:

• CO is the only airline that can offer me a Newark hub. As a New Jersey resident this is a difficult one to get past. The drive to JFK without traffic is only about 30-40 minutes more than EWR, but there is ALWAYS some idiotic problem on the Belt Parkway… ALWAYS.
• The AA terminal at JFK is a dismal unpleasant place. The AA terminal at O’Hare is an annoying crowded place with long lines and slow security. The only AA terminal I have enjoyed so far is the one at Long Beach, CA.
• AA mysteriously canceled one of my flights from EWR to ORD on a Saturday morning. They made no announcement at the gate. I only noticed when I checked the departure screen. They finally made an announcement about 20 min before original departure time (after all alternate flights had left). Since the plane was coming from Chicago… you’d think they would have a bit more info. There were still only 34 people on the F100 flight 2 hours later – so I can’t help but suspect the reason for the cancellation. I can not recall the last time CO cancelled one of my flights.
• My transcon flights to Long Beach and San Jose were on LRTC 757s. The only thing about the flight that was an improvement over CO was a better movie and cheaper headsets (Not the usual inane romantic comedy that CO plays).
• The F100s I had to Chicago were pretty run down. These planes would not pass any white glove test.
• Many of my flights were late. Even out of EWR I have found CO to be pretty reliable and they seem to try and get planes out on time. AA seemed uninspired in this regard.
• AA NEVER made any announcements when there were delays.
• AA food was dismal.

So my experience with AA has not been very impressive so far. But even so, I’m still considering making the switch. My biggest problem with CO is their push to reward higher fares. I think this will cause more and more problems as expense account flyers are faced with trying to book more expensive fares to keep their perks. This creates a conflict of interest that over time could even cause businesses to not allow employees to keep their miles. AA is doing some of this too… but CO is leading the pack.

Perhaps I should try NW or UA… I don’t know…