AS: "25K miles a year, btw, is nothing. AA's top tiers do 100K."
The two are not comparable. Untied's top tier also requires 100K. My point was to highlight the difference between the top fliers and the rest (btw. 25K miles is above average....not that it gets you a coveted status. Still it IS above-average).
Jim: " If they were paying the costs, they would still be cheaper shopping around.". Haha. That's exactly what I did
Flew a lot for work in 2011 and got a 1K status with them in 2012. But didnt fly much in 2012 (have a *G with them this year).
Aside from the rank-bad-service-airlines (Spirit, and Delta), I really don't care who I fly with this year.