Switch from Cathay / CX Marco Polo Club to AA AAdvantage?
May 16, 2018, 6:01 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: MPC
Posts: 1
Switch from Cathay / CX Marco Polo Club to AA AAdvantage?
Have been MPC Gold for past 6 years - fly SFO-HKG on CX in J roughly 4-6 times per year. Just received an offer from AA for complimentary Platinum Pro status. Is it worth making the switch from MPC to AA? I have around 250k Asia Miles, but have always had issues booking award travel via Asia Miles if I want to fly anywhere other than Asia. I imagine award redemption would be much easier via AA (not to mention free domestic upgrades on AA)? Any other noteworthy differences? Thanks!
May 16, 2018, 6:09 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
Have you compared earning rates using AAdvantage vs MPC for travel you are likely to make? And the award rates for the awards you are likely to redeem.
Saaver seats between some city pairs can be difficult to obtain, and remember, there are no higher awards (Aanytime) on partner airlines
One negative is you would not get lounge access based on status for North America only trips (except for Mexico CIty)
Saaver seats between some city pairs can be difficult to obtain, and remember, there are no higher awards (Aanytime) on partner airlines
One negative is you would not get lounge access based on status for North America only trips (except for Mexico CIty)
May 16, 2018, 6:19 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
First of all, welcome to FT!
Usually 4 paid J CX trips will qualify you for AA EXP, but the same trips will only get you CX GO, which is OWS. As grass is always greener, AA's redemption isn't "much easier" IMO. On top of the lounge access restrictions mentioned by mvoight, keep in mind that AM is the only currency that could upgrade CX-operated flights, and technically MPC GO is ahead of OWE in terms of op-up priority in CX (unless you fly 359 where no F is available). There are other smaller things, such as ISM greetings/bottle of water, that seem to matter a lot to some folks.
The topics have been discussed extensively on CX, and for more information, feel free to search on CX page.
Usually 4 paid J CX trips will qualify you for AA EXP, but the same trips will only get you CX GO, which is OWS. As grass is always greener, AA's redemption isn't "much easier" IMO. On top of the lounge access restrictions mentioned by mvoight, keep in mind that AM is the only currency that could upgrade CX-operated flights, and technically MPC GO is ahead of OWE in terms of op-up priority in CX (unless you fly 359 where no F is available). There are other smaller things, such as ISM greetings/bottle of water, that seem to matter a lot to some folks.
The topics have been discussed extensively on CX, and for more information, feel free to search on CX page.