Henry,
For the last three of those years, I've been in Iraq, with only a few long hauls a year (home or to consultations). I've simply not kept up with FFing because the only frequent flying I do is on blackhawks, and currently the US Army isn't a member of *A!
Because of this, I have to manage things a little differently. I do multiple long haul RT's, usually in C or F, and almost exclusively on UA. By doing that, I am able to maintain my Premier Exec in UA, and that maintains my Gold in *A.
Thus my relative unfamiliarity with other airlines and cross airline accountability of miles for Star Alliance and accrual of miles in a home program. The answer seems obvious to you, but you probably fly more miles and more carriers than I do. Then again, your flight crew probably isn't armed to the teeth either.
Anyways, thanks to all who answered my question. I'm going to present my UA/*A FF miles card to the fine folks at Egypt Airlines check in, and see if that causes their system to implode spectacularly!
Regards,
-Bouncer-