Originally Posted by
oenophilist
One advice: try to pick a program and stick to it. Bonuses can rack up the miles, but if you spread your miles around, you often will not get the benefits of the bonuses, etc. So if you stick with AA, get an AA card, put AA on your car rentals, hotels, etc. Of course, there may come a time in the future when you need to change programs, but generally speaking better to stick to one.
Second is to look at the alliance that that airline belongs to. Where do you want to fly? What are the alliance members that fly to that destination?
That's a good point and I have been doing just that for the past 10+ years but ideally would have a bit more flexibility than AA offers me (I have not been able to get the amazing non-stop connections guv talks about). I am wondering whether I should get an additional program, eg. Starwood; Capital One Venture; Schwab (anybody have any experience with those?), or stick with AA. How well do those other programs work? Do they effectively increase flexibility? Is it easy enough to redeem miles? I have read online a number of dreadful reviews of the Starwood program in terms of customer service but have also read that lots of people have it - not sure what to do.