Originally Posted by
Naar Keer
(1) What is your home airport?
Reply: SFO
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class?
Reply: more than 175K (almost all in J)
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Reply: Business, J
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: for work, planing to choose Cathay Pacific for 2013 trips.
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: SFO to China
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it?
Reply: UA 1K
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Award travel (Asia, Europe and S America)
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: Currently *A (United) would like to try out Cathay Pacific
If award travel is most important and you are US bsaed then most probably AA is the best program for you. Also you are already booking J so the need for upgrades is less pressing compared to flying Y.
The only thing I would add is that IMHO in is advantages to have status with the airline you actually fly. So should you aim for status and you almost always fly CX, I would join their program even so earn/burn rate and fees might be worse than AA.