I really appreciate your trying to help me but I don't understand what you're saying... Is there an intro page or something somewhere that explains these acronyms and/or how current mileage programs works? I've been using points/miles for maybe 10 years now but almost exclusively through Continental/United either directly or with points transferred from Amex.

I will say that I love love love the United rewards travel search tool. Showing you the list of available flights with the class and number of points required is great. And the little calendar at the top that shows availability on other days is awesome. Really miss being able to transfer points to United...