Thanks for the help. I didn't give any consideration to US going in given the less than stellar rep the program has amongst FTers. But a couple of points stuck regarding US. The home airline is going to protect its own elites and the hub at CLT works with SE travel. And, if I'm using PHL or ABE, US seems like the fit. Status would matter most to me when I hit elite. It's just hard to swallow going in that direction knowing US gets killed/shredded/destroyed/punked on the boards for its service.

I also have the tatl component. EWR would only be an additional 25 min ride which is why CO was in play. I could utilize PHL to europe, but flights have been cheaper, sometimes considerably, out of EWR. PHL is not out of play for tatl which then makes US the choice of program.

So out of all of this, I do have another question. I will be taking many more flights domestically, but I would earn more miles going back and forth to europe. So I am unsure which I should value more when it comes to status and evaluating ffps - domestic flying with many flights or the 4 tatl that I have scheduled? This trend should continue for 2011.