Beckles, your post illustrates the fact that the "best" program is not necessarily the one that someone should choose. I write best in quotes because it is someone elses subjective opinion. My opinion is that if an informed traveler looks at all the options and makes an informed decision, then that decision is really the best for that traveller. Like in your case Delta is really the best airline for you otherwise you would choose another. The concern I have is that an uniformed traveller would be swayed by the ratings and choose an airline which is not the best for him or her.