Newbie here… I feel like I’ve done a lot of flying over the years (not as much as most of you I’m sure) but b/c I’m always flying on different carriers, I don’t know how to maximize all my traveling. I’m confused with how these frequent flier programs work, especially with these alliances. I have a *A account, but I also have accounts with US Airways and United. Whenever I fly on a *A carrier, do I add those miles to that particular carrier, or can I opt to have those miles be counted under a different *A carrier? I recently flew Turkish Airlines and Aegean… do I need to open separate accounts with those individual carrier’s programs, or do I add those miles to *A? What does it mean if I add the miles to *A, or in other words, does it not get accounted for within the individual carrier’s program? Is there a way to add them to either US Airways or United? I’ve read that it is good to stick with the carrier I use most. So let’s say I use United the most, do I add those Aegean and Turkish Air miles to United (if that’s even possible?) If so, how do I do this?

If it helps...
(1) What is your home airport? DCA or IAD
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? <25K
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? none
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good award redemption rates, hopefully some free flights
(6) Which routes do you fly most often US Domestic, typically between DCA/IAD to SMF/SFO or SNA/LAX/LGB; hoping for one transatlantic per year in the future
(7) Preferred Airlines – don’t really have one, I just fly whatever has been cheapest at the time of purchase; I have 50K with Delta Skymiles and 18K with United
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Pleasure