Originally Posted by
Kacee
You must fly four segments per year on UA metal to acquire UA status.
This. Unless you have the UA club credit card (and you'd need to have a US address to get it), you need to hit this minimum. If you won't, or think you might not, crediting to UA probably isn't going to be much better for you.
Each of the FF programs have their specific benefits and drawbacks, but one thing is clear with all carriers - they are all not as rewarding as they used to be, and are moving to try to cut the gaming - through minimum spend requirements, fewer miles (status and/or redeemable) on lower fares and minimum segments on home metal. A3 used to be the place for fliers to go for easier elite status, but now they are requiring segments on their metal to status.
Some primarily UA fliers think going to other *A programs will be better for them. Even with the devaluations, the US FF programs, IMO, do still seem to be a better value than others. Despite that, for most, the home carrier program is very often the better one, since your benefits from a partner program are still more limited if you hardly fly them. YMMV, of course.