I was an AA Plat who defected to UA because of the demise of MRTC and my poor percentage of upgrades to F. I found using 500-milers on AA very difficult because of the AA practice of ExPlats having automatic upgrades on domestic flights. While it's great for the ExPlats, it's not so good for mid and low tier elites who find themselves in a cramped MD-80 E- seat.

I status-matched to United as a PremEx early last year and (due to the Great Offer) made 1K Lite in October. As a PremEx flying out of IAD/BWI, I found my 500-milers clearing 50-75% of the time vs my 10-15% batting average on AA.

After making 1K, I have sat in the back of the bus a grand total of 2 times over the course of 70 segments. I made 1K for 2007 at the end of June and cannot imagine ever accepting dual mid-tier status at the expense of top status on UA.

That being said, I have dumped enough business on AS to keep MVP Gold status, so when I must fly AA at least I get double miles out of the deal. Well that, and a cramped 6'1" frame.