Originally Posted by doctor15

Since you are doing this weekly, I would recommend you choose the carrier based on who has the most convenient schedule for your normal commute. Trust me, after several weeks of the same drill, that extra 30 minutes heading to the airport at 6am, or time waiting coming home might get very old.

As crappy as US air is, their shuttle product is great. It is hourly all day long on A319s. When I was commuting BOS-WAS, I flew US air but credited to UA, so that I could get economy+ and upgrades on longer flights. I really didnt care about upgrades for the quick shuttle flights. The only issue with this is you will only get actual miles for BOS-NYC.

While US Air's first product leaves a lot to be desired, if you are looking for free international flights, crediting to US is great because you can redeem on any *A airline and unlike UA, they don't have *net blocking. As an EXP, I feel that AA has hands down the best program if you are top-tier but if your normal commute is JFK-BOS, I would NOT recommend them. You will be going out of your way to fly at best a CR7 and until you are EXP would have to use stickers to upgrade, if available. In economy, you probably won't be too happy.

Just my 2cents...

As far as Marriott vs Starwood, I'm Platinum with both and don't think you can go wrong with either. I actually made a spreadsheet at one point comparing point value of both programs, and found that with no bonuses, Marriott seems to be be a better value for earning free nights, but *wood has better promotions. It is also much easier to redeem on *wood, as hotels are rarely not available, and you can always use additional points if no standard rooms are available.

As far as quality of hotels, most Marriotts seem to be better suited for business travel. You get free breakfast and they have much better platinum amenities. However, I think starwood has much better resorts and generally prefer starwoods when on vacation.