I feel so stupid that I may have to make 4 internation rt from ORD from Jan to March.

If I simply use one carrier rather than flying 4 different carriers, I will simply qualify for the elite status. But using 4 different carriers is the best deal in the short term.

Take a look at this schedule which you may think stupid.

1: ORD rt BCN via UA (because I'm MP member)
2: BCN - BKK - SIN - MXP - BCN via KLM (b/c costs USD1000 cheaper than other carriers)
3: ORD - BCN - MXP - ORD via AA (b/c my g/f bought the AA ticket first and I want to take the same flight back to ORD)
4: ORD - SIN - SEL(Seoul) - ORD via Korean Air (b/c only 35K miles needed to upgrade to C for all the segments, what an award!)

Am I stupid or what?

I don't think you are stupid. I think you are learning more and more, and welcome to FlyerTalk! Best of luck on your next travels!

Consolidating all of your travels with one alliance or carrier is difficult and includes all types of odd routings that corporate travel departments find puzzling as well as the finance department. It is worth it in the long run though from an elite standpoint, bonus miles etc. Good luck with your travels.

I certainly admire the travelers on this board who can stick in one alliance. For most of 2000 I was able to stick with One World but toward the end of September, American became totally uncompetitive pricewise. Yes it's easy to finagle routings on personal time but to finagle dollars out of the company checkbook, you have to be prudent. For example for a Y class AA flight SJC-FRA later this year, the best fare is $3500!! Thru 1st Air, I can go C for $3300 but on a Star Alliance partner. My trips to Asia, Korean beats Cathy and Singapore hands down fare wise.

So, you are not stupid, perhaps, like me, just a victim of uncompetitive pricing.