Hey DCA_not_Reagan (funny handle by the way).

I take it she is not flying in paid C of F much, otherwise I'd suggest SQ's PPS and say UA, where she would credit her flight sectors to PPS and the miles to MP or another program...

I would suggest two things right now. The first is that you quiz your friend about what important to her, her expected future flying, etc. Check out this post as guideline for that.

The second is that you pose your question in the *A forum (maybe ask a moderator to move your thread over there). On this forum you will get a lot of answers about the good and bad of UA's MP, but not necessarily a comparative view.

Good luck.