Greetings! Long-time lurker, first post! Would appreciate some advice on whether status is worth it (criteria below) and if so, which FF program to pursue!

I'm rapidly approaching my vacation day cap, so I figured I should start traveling more!

1. What is your home airport?
   
   SNA/LAX/SAN. Note: it takes an 60-90 minutes + $70-90 to get to LAX/SAN (one-way), compared to 15 minutes + $15 to get to SNA.
   
   Secondary "home airport" is WAS (prefer DCA, as I can take the subway compared to sitting in traffic). I'm fine with paying an extra $350 or so since I can stopover at home for a few days and then continue to wherever.
   
   
2. What types of fares do you usually buy?
   
   Economy, especially for any flight shorter than 7 hours. For international flights, I'm willing to book into PE and upgrade into Business/First (or even booking Business/First if it's a good deal).
   
   
3. How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
   
   Currently ~12k miles flying domestic economy (3 roundtrips coast to coast, either nonstop or up to 1 stop). Looking to add two international roundtrips per year which will add ~25k miles to the above figure.
   
   
4. Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
   
   ~10k banked with SWA, ~2k with UA, so nothing special since I usually fly domestic. With planned international travel, I've been debating if going for status is worth it. I suspect I can hit Silver, or maybe Gold if I throw in a mileage run or two.
   
   I also hold Amex/Chase cards with access to both rewards programs, if that helps.
   
   
5. What is most important to you in a FFP?
   
   Upgrades > Good Redemption Rates > Award Access
   
   I never check bags, and fly with only a backpack, so baggage allowance and priority boarding are irrelevant to me. Similarly, I try to avoid (long) layovers in favor of stopovers or nonstops when available and arrive at the airport on time, so lounge access is of limited utility for me.
   
   
6. Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
   
   (annually)
   
   • 2x: SNA-BWI on SWA, though considering switching to nonstop red-eye LAX-IAD/BWI on UA
   • 1x: SNA/LAX-YYZ/YVR on UA/AC (generally alternate annually between YYZ/YVR)
   • 1x: SNA-SEA for work, usually on DL, or occasionally Alaska
   • 2x: looking to add two international roundtrips (1 Europe, 1 Asia)
   
   
7. Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
   
   I have choice of airline and class (though considering going mercenary at this point). Airlines most flown are SWA/UA for pleasure. Work usually puts me on DL Economy (infrequent).
   
   
8. Preferred Airlines?
   
   I've historically gone mercenary for cheapest fare. ❤SWA though sadly not really an option for international travel, and switching to overnight flights means I can save a vacation day by departing after work.

Right now considering sticking with MileagePlus, but I'm worried about meeting the PQD requirement. I was thinking maybe KrisFlyer instead (would love to book one of the fabled A380 suites someday ...) though the primary concern there would be three year mileage expiration.

Short of getting Platinum, how likely am I to get upgrades from status?

Alternately, does it make sense to suck it up and stay mercenary flying exclusively economy, or potentially go OW instead? For instance, OW operates nonstop LAX-HKG and LAX-DCA with somewhat better schedules than *A equivalents (e.g. SNA-SFO-HKG, SNA-SFO-IAD/BWI).