Hi all

I recently moved permanently to London from the US where I have been 1K on United and Gold on American for years. I am trying to figure out which FF program to join here and would love some expert advice! Here is an idea of my travel patterns:

For work:
Business class, mostly to NY/Boston/SF/Chicago: 6-8x annually
Economy class within Europe (!): 12-16x annually

For leisure:
Economy internationally: 10-12x annually

Having done some research, my best option seems to be a combination:
1. Virgin FC for my trips to the US (only 4 Business Class trips to Gold, great service, lounges, etc)
PLUS
2. BMI DC for destinations elsewhere (for Star Alliance accrual and easy redemption)?

Are my rationales for not keeping to one program correct?
1. Rationale for not joining BMI DC only
- BMI is not a great business class airline
- No other Star Alliance airline flies directly to the US from the UK

2. Rationale for not joining Virgin only
- Narrow range of accrural/redemption partners within Europe and few award seats

3. BA only would cover everything but is difficult to accrue miles/status (esp in economy) and redeem flights?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance.