Thanks for the reply FlyingDutchman. What you say makes perfect sense, but I guess that if you disregard that factor, my question is still valid.

In other words, even though my status within a program will influence my ability to get award seats, I suppose that some programs and/or airlines are probably better than others for the average joe without a "level up", so to speak.

So I still wish to know if, from the viewpoint of your basic flier, whether some FF programs are better at providing award seats on other airlines within the alliance, or if they are all the same.