I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, or if I should start a new thread. But here goes.

I'm trying to figure out which FFPs to join as ST and OW (and maybe *A - more on that below) "backups" or "secondaries" for those rare flights for which I can't get miles in my DL, AA, or UA account.

Here's an example of what I mean. Earlier this year I flew an itinerary in K that was UA/LX metal to the Middle East and LH metal back. The LH portions were not eligible for UA credit, so I opened a Miles and More account just for the miles from the LH flights. I figured getting miles in an account I might not use very much was better than getting no miles anywhere.

So my main question is, does anyone have recommendations for the best account with ST and OW partners that could serve as backups for collecting miles that I would otherwise get no credit for? (An alternative to M&M for *A might be a moot point, at least for now. I didn't think to comparison-shop then.)

The point is to have somewhere to put miles that I otherwise would not get. It's that simple.

Now, this is admittedly rare. I have flown 33 non-domestic segments (i.e. at least one non-US airport on the segment) since 2010, and of those 33

- 10 have been on non-ST/OW/*A carriers (like SATA and Oman Air)

- 9 on USA carriers

- 14 on alliance carriers (with at least 5 of those not eligible for credit to a USA FFP, but it might have been a couple more)

Some people might argue that it's not worth the hassle for that few instances, but I figure if I can get miles out of it that I would not otherwise get in my USA accounts, it's worth it. It's not likely I'll get enough miles to fly, but I might at least get a lovely consolation prize from the secondary account before the miles expire, and if don't, I'm no worse off for trying.

As rare as it all is, maybe going for the program without a hard expiration is the best bet, followed by one with as long a hard expiry deadline as possible. But I don't know if I'm missing something in the reasoning.

Thanks!