On another thread, the question was asked which airline had the better product in first to Hawaii, UA or CO. While it appears the majority of FTers fly UA, few had anything to say and those that did, didn't say anything favorable.

Personally, from reading the posts under the other airlines, it sure appears for the 70K miles I fly a year, I would get better service and more benefits, such as free upgrades and ability to upgrade internationally on any fare, if I flew a carrier other than UA.

Yet, I continue to primarily fly UA and probably always will simply because they pretty much have SFO, where I fly out of, locked up and because, with the abundance of flights they offer, I'm pretty much assured if there is a mechanical problem or I miss a flight that the next flight is probably only an hour or two later.

Anyway... to get to the point ... I'm wondering what caused you to select your carrier of choice to be your preferred airline (assuming you and not your company made the decision) and how big a part did the benefits offered in their FF program play or were they secondary to other factors?