I was going to suggest the MR->DL->DC->AA (25% bonus w/ upcoming DC promo) route, & see that it is included in the thread to which you've referred.

QF Millions--I note from your posts in the AmEx forum that your average charges have resulted in your earning 1 million MR points every ~6 months.

Given that kind of charge history, & if it is anticipated to continue, I would think that your first option to go w/ is simply to "start from scratch" w/ a Starwood AmEx card, for the following reasons:

Even w/ what appears to be the most point-conserving conversion re: MR->DL->DC->AA, you still end up sacrificing over 1 million miles (OUCH).

If AA is going to discontinue their lifetime elite program, I would think that there would be some sort of announcement & associated timeframe prior to which it would actually be terminated (if such a thing even occurs)--if such were to happen, you could begin dumping/converting the points immediately. In the mean time, you can have them & the associated flexibility re: redemption, & begin placing your AmEx charges on a Starwood AmEx card (again, you'd have a 5,000 mile bonus for every 20,000 transferred, & you'd also have the option to leave some in place for hotel award stays [oh, how I envy the points balance you could maintain ]).

There's obviously no guarantee re: that any termination of AA's lifetime elite program would be preceded by a "grace period" of sorts during which final mileage transfers could take place.

BUT, in the end, it really comes down to whether you consider lifetime elite status to be worth sacrificing 1.125 million miles for. Given the average monthly charges you've sustained over the last 18 months (plus?), you could obviously regain a sizable balance quickly, & may understandably consider the sacrifice to be worth it.

Regardless of whether you go w/ a Starwood AmEx card, I would also concur that obtaining a Diners Club card would be worth it--having a Club Rewards account available for conversions would add flexibility & additional options to your overall redemption possibilities, & you would also have DC-specific promos to avail yourself of, & possibly use to contribute to optimizing the gain in a given account, etc. Lastly, the DC Club Rewards program also happens to have many merchandise redemption options (as well as the infamous 1:1 conversion promo re: DC Club Rewards points to BA miles, which has taken place every year for the past few years, & has been enormously popular).

[This message has been edited by ILTE_Miles (edited 07-28-2001).]