Scott e-mailed me and indicated that he can fly from either COS or DEN and usually flies to Chicago. I thought I would go ahead and post my suggestions and perhaps others would disagree/agree or have additional ideas. As far as a program to join, I would suggest Northwest Worldperks. Frequently NW has some good fares detween DEN and CHI (both airports). These will involve connections in MSP, but will build miles quickly. Plus, my most recent statement indicates that they continue to give 500 extra miles for connx in MSP, DTW, and MEM. If you call and enroll quickly, you can get the 1,000 mile bonus for updating your e-mail address on their website. Recently, I changed my long distance service to Sprint for 2,000 NW miles upfront plus 1,000 miles per month for a year. Worldperks Visa has ongoing offers ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 miles for sign-up, plus the usual 1 mile/dollar. If you enroll and buy your first ticket soon at nwa.com, you will get 4,000 bonus miles for first purchase. All this info is available at their site. Hope this helps.