mecabq, I am starting to feel that your suggestion of not worrying about sticking with one airline for the rewards (which sound pretty marginal) is the best option. I am not moving permanently to the region or taking an extended trip; it's basically back and forth for a while. I'll be at American University in Beirut, then in AU in Cairo, a conference in Doha, etc. However, I will still be living and going to school in the good ol' US of A, so that's why I was hoping I could use these trips to earn something rather than just dropping all that money and getting nothing in return. I might just see how many of the UA IAD> KWI or DXB I can take if I can find the shorter flights within the region I need at a decent price. Since I will rarely be looking to pay more than I have to, not worrying about being loyal to a particular airline seems the easy way to go.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. I think at this point lounge access isn't enough to entice me into a loyalty program. I am sure this isn't exactly the proper forum to ask, but just as a follow up, any suggestions on getting the best deals for these flights? Any airlines or sites I should check out if I was willing to forego a single one and just search for whatever gets me the best deal at the time?

Thanks again!