EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: I am guessing that the general availability of award seats is not always equal across FF programs and/or airlines; But is the general availability influenced by the FF program you are a member of, or by the airline within the alliance that you are booking on, or the combination?

DETAILS: I have 100,000+ points on an Amex card that I need to put into a miles program. So I am trying to decide which program. The Star Alliance looks good to me, so I plan to pick a program with that alliance. I read that Aeroplan (Air Canada) is a good way to go for that.

However I also read serious complaints by Aeroplan members about real problems trying to get flights. I wasn't sure if the problem was caused by Aeroplan itself, or by Air Canada. What I mean is, I wonder if I use my miles on Aeroplan to book a flight on another airline, say ANA for example, is there a chance that I might face greater or lesser difficulties than using miles from a different program?

As a side note, if anyone has a general tip on where to dump the points from the Amex card (they must be dumped), I would greatly appreciate it.