So missing 84% of booked flights is not like a big deal on scale the size of American. Notably because the seat just will just open up for someone else to sit

So missing 84% of booked flights is not like a big deal on scale the size of American. Notably because the seat just will just open up for someone else to sit in. Either the plane leaves full of passengers or it doesn't. It was also pretty common practice to overbook flights starting in the 2000's. As to the confusion of self with your airline status, I would say it's pretty bad if you were able to fly anywhere for free especially for 20 years, and then lost that ability. However, it just means you would pay for flights, which seems like something fairly easy to get over, especially if you're wealthy.