First I'd like to thank all of you for this great resource. I've spent the last few days going through tons of threads, wiki, etc and learned a lot. In fact I may be suffering from information overload as I try to process of all of this into what is best in my situation and goals. So I humbly ask for your help. If this is the wrong forum, please point me to the right one, I didn't see a "newbies" area...

My quick story: I recently accepted a new job where I will be flying a lot more, by my standards. I will be on the road 30-40 weeks/year; flying round trips from my home base in Austin, TX to all over the USA and maybe 10% int'l. I'm currently a member of all the major FF programs but don't have miles to speak of b/c my past roles didn't require much travel so I didn't keep them up.

I'll be booking all of my own travel (airfare paid by company, hotel/car floated by me for reimbursement) so have some flexibility on choosing providers. I have excellent credit (Fico >780) with very good ratios so getting a rewards card is no problem if it makes sense. General business guidelines are best available rate although I do get biz class for int'l travel. By my best calculations I'll do something like 60-75,000 miles/yr (?)...

My goals are:
* Get to a level where I get upgraded to first on my business trips as much as possible
* Accumulate enough miles to do a nice int'l trip in 1st with my wife 1x/yr
* Get access to lounges whenever possible at the most reasonable rate

I have some questions I need your help on:
* Based on my home base (Austin), reading about the various FF plans, it seems like AA is my best bet. Aside from SWA they have the most gates in AUS and a close hub in DFW. Other options would be Continental, Delta, United in that order. Am I thinking about this right?
* What kind of status should I expect and how fast to get there?
* Based on my pattern of travel, should I do a challenge?
* Based on my travel and goals, is there any rewards card that would be a better bet for me than others?
* Are there any other questions I *should* be asking?

Thank you to everyone in advance!