Originally Posted by
Osteomata
1. Decide on the acceptability of Newark for some of your trips
2. Decide on the acceptabiity of MIA for your South Florida trips
3. Determine if you will be making a trip to South America again this year or next
4. Narrow down where you might be going in Europe.
With all that, examine airline and alliance availability to your destinations.
If the answer to #1 (Newark) and #2 (MIA) is NO, then Delta might be the right choice.
If #1 is Yes but #2 is still No, then Continental might be the better option (their FFP program is much better respected here at FT, it seems).
If the answer to both #1 and #2 is Yes, then that would bring American into the equation, and if 3# is also yes, then that would move American up even further in the rankings.
So, I think its worth it, but I can't help you any further with the actual program selection.
This flow chart, IMO, nails it completely. The only thing I would add is under #4 above (Narrow down where you might be going to Europe.) is if this is Germany or more "exotic" European destination, you should check out the Lufthansa Route map and see if they get you where you want to go. If Newark is ok (for Continental) then you can fly Lufthansa out of JFK for your Europe trips and credit your miles to Continental. Read up on the Star Alliance on this site and see if that helps. If Miami works for you and/or if you plan to go to South America anytime soon then American really comes into play.
Good luck.