Hi there, first time poster, gonna take the plunge. First I think a little background on my situation might help you guys. I'm a student at a university on the East coast but I'm originally from the SF Bay Area. Therefore I would love to be able to fly back to see my family on the major breaks holidays, etc. My closest international airport is BOS, but to go to the New York area airports isn't much of a hassle.

I have done a bit of research and I'm leaning towards Mileage Plus. My only reservations are the PQDs and the revenue based reward miles. I tend to buy the cheapest tickets available for domestic flights on UA metal, but for long international flights, I try to avoid UA (as any logical person would) and I'm not sure if I could earn PQDs from say, Lufthansa or Singapore. Plus, the amount of rewards miles I get is not nearly close to what I would get if it was distance based.

I'm not adverse to trying out Oneworld if you guys have better suggestions however Skyteam doesn't seem all that appealing to me (but I promise to keep an open mind if you have a compelling arguement). Up until a couple of days ago it was pretty clear that I was going to pick AA, but now I'm not sure.

(1) I am halfway between BOS and JFK/EWR/LGA so any of those airports would work for me. (Technically my closest airports are BDL and PVD, but they don't have flights to anywhere)
(2) I'm not sure what the classes are, I generally fly premium economy if it's available and if not, then Economy.
(3) Last year flew about 35,000 - 40,000 miles, but all on different airlines and thus different programs so hoping to consolidate.
(4) BR Silver and *A Silver -- Valid until 10/31/16
(5) I would love upgrades but realistically at the amount I travel, it's unlikely. Also good award charts, especially in upper cabin levels for transpacific/Atlantic flights.
(6) Fly roundtrip BOS-SFO at least 6 times a year and at least one transpacific or transatlantic flight per year.
(7) None for the most part, tend to hate UA for international travel in economy but if the price is right...
(8) Travel for pleasure, so I can pick whatever airline I want.

My overall goal is to get the transcontinental flights for as cheap as possible, and maybe get one transpacific flight I take per year bumped up to business or first.

Sorry if this is too long, but thanks in advance for all your help