Hi all,
I'm just starting to travel for business and I'm overwhelmed trying to make sense of all the programs out there and figure out what is best for me.
I'm based in Charlotte, NC and my travel will be split between various destinations in the U.S. and Europe.

I just returned from my first trip, which was to Turin, Italy. I flew Lufthansa because it was the most convenient, so I signed up for their Miles and More program, but I was disappointed to find out that based on the ticket class, I only earned half a mile for each mile actually flown. Approx 10k miles flown and only earned 5k miles.

I used the mileage calculator for United, and it showed that I would have earned the full 10k miles, no matter what class of ticket was booked.

So any advice on which programs I should focus on and which airlines I should fly to try to get the best value out of my travel would be appreciated.

My goals would be:
Earn as many miles as possible in a program with a good availability of award flights.
Earn status as quickly as I can in a program with a good chance for upgrades.

I would expect to use the award miles for travel to both US and European destinations.

Thanks