Originally Posted by
MDtR-Chicago
My opinion is different than most of the others posted...
I don't think you should bother with any of this. There are only two types of people for whom the active pursuit of mileage makes sense, and you don't seem like either:
(1) Those who have a low income level and could thus never afford to travel well otherwise.
(2) Those who enjoy some element of it as a hobby.
I'd suggest you sign up for one program per alliance - whichever is easiest, so likely UA, AA, DL.
+1
But the OP might just be at the beginning of his points/travel addiction.
If I had it to do from the start and lived in the Bay area, my advice would be to enroll in United MP, then get the basic Chase credit cards (explorer, sapphire and Ink) to fill up the mileage tank. OP might fly enough to get silver elite status, which would be better than nothing. Granted, United and mileage plus have a lot of negatives right now, but you cant beat the route network from SFO and the frequent flyer program is very easy to use.
From there, start flying, build up your mileage balance (by using shopping portals, getting other credit cards, hundreds of other ways - whatever your tolerance is for this stuff), and read flyertalk and the blogs, where you are bound to find someone who has similar goals in terms of travel (mommy points on boarding area is great for beginners). If you enjoy the hobby, it will grow naturally.
I would also probably pay the 50$ to keep the US air points alive, and get award wallet to have one place to keep track and maintain points/miles in your other programs. Good Luck!