This is a little late, but to add my 2 cents: I have been told throughout my application process that having an MA is not at all an advantage when applying for a PhD - quite the opposite. Such candidates often need to justify why they went for a terminal masters, since this is indeed considered a less serious path. In all of academia, there is a real stigma against paying for graduate school, regardless of whether you can afford it. Serious students are supposed to be funded.
Lady Gray got a reaction from Hegel's Bagels in Spinoff: Rejected from PhD, accepted to MA - thoughts/experiences?