Hi everyone,

I am completely new to all this and want to get off on the right foot...

I have recently relocated to NYC and expect to be flying extensively both within the US and abroad. I do not have a significant amount of airmiles. (I do have about 100k Starwoods SPG points.)

[1] My goal is to get enough points to facilitate personal Business class travel for NYC to London return. The choices then are:

British Airways : Accumulating points on American Airlines (other oneWorld partners?)
Virgin Atlantic and BMI : Accumulating points on Continental / Virgin America / US Airways.

How should I decide between the two? (The Business class seats are comparable between BA & VA.)

[2] Which US bank accounts & credit cards schemes can maximize my mileage?

[3] Is joining mileagemanager.com a worthwhile investment?

Thanks for any advice or pointers.

BR/
Greg