On the eve of planning three TATL trips and still smarting over the tripling of cost for upgradable flights. Seeing a rise in discontent on the NW page. Thinking again about a status match. Live in PHX, travel 4-5 X TATL (mostly AMS and GVA) + usually one other flight to Asia, Middle East, or South America. ~ 120,000 miles per year overall. NW has been good for the AMS flights, since there are a lot of options in and out.

I see a lot of defections to CO. I am thinking * A, with status match to UA or CO, since US charges money for status matching. AA is not a good choice because they do not fly to AMS other than with BA via LHR and oneworld does not seem so hot. If you could earn miles on BA from PHX - LHR, it might be an option. The BA flight is the only TATL out of PHX direct non-stop, but AA miles cannot be earned on that flight.

Thoughts?

I've never done it, but doesn't Alaska Airlines allow mileage accrual on TATL flights on B.A.?

When I look at Alaska's Mileage Plan page, it seems like the answer is "yes".