Welcome, Snake Pliskin. I'm glad you came out of the shadows. This is a pretty cool place! Since you've been lurking awhile you aren't exactly a newbie, but as a friendly piece of advice, "Jump on in. Ask some questions. Answer some questions. Give away some coupons. Ask for some coupons. Stay out of flame wars. FT really is what we make it."

I don't fly AA so I will leave the suggestions to some of the more seasoned veterans around here. However, a potentially helpful idea popped into my mind.

What other airlines can you earn AA miles on? Check into them as well. I use CO OnePass but I'll bet that at least 50% of my miles come from AS and/or NW flights.