As another IAH-based flyer, an option that is always available is AA. It's about ~45 minutes up to DFW, and from there, pretty much everywhere. The Centurion lounge at DFW is great for layovers. I keep my status on DL, but the biggest drawback for trying to fly DL out of Texas is how poorly DL works with its partners. KL, AF, and KE all operate flights to IAH - but try to book awards on one of those flights, or book KE at all in any meaningful (read: qualifying) way - and it's impossible. No flight to SEA or LAX is another big issue. Since there's no clear winner, and UA customer service is awful, I split my travel.
Last edited by cfw; Jul 14, 2014 at 6:22 pm