Hi -

I just started this whole adventure about three months ago. I have accrued:

Chase Sapphire - 44,000 points
Chase Ink Plus - 55,000
Amex SPG - 27,000
Barclay USAir Mastercard - 37,000
Barclay World Mastercard - 42,000
Citi AAdvantage 52,000
Chase SW 52,000

Now, I have some rather stupid questions, but I am kind of nervous about this and want to do things right. I would like to combine as many points as I can onto one airline to be able to take my daughter to Europe this summer for graduation. I am concerned that it is too late to book this. I have been seeing some people say that you need to book a year out. Is this true?

Also, what airline would you suggest I combine the points with? I joined as many frequent flyer programs as I could and made sure I went with at least one from Star Alliance and one from One World. I know that US Air and AA are combining which should help me since I have points from each card.

And, lastly, do I just go to the specific frequent flyer program that I choose and transfer the miles into that program? Let's say I put all of my miles into American. Can I then shop thru all of the One World airlines to find which one will work best?

I would appreciate any help you all can give me!