Sorry, didn't see your post asking why I recommend Citi/AA before I posted about the second thread you should read. Three reasons: first, you can get two cards to get 100K miles; second, there are nonstop flights available to get you from ORD to CDG (Delta and United also do this and Delta does out of DTW, thus, reducing your travel time); third, AA has an offseason rate of 40K RT with reasonable availability.