I'm based in Miami and currently looking at a job that would entail exntensive travel within North America, some trips to Singapore a couple of times a year, and some trips to South America.

I prefer to go with AA since:
1)I'm based in Miami which is an AA gateway
2)Have been a OW FF member with AA, CX, and BA in the past, and am familiar with the products and programs.
3)Any MIA-South America flights would likely be AA.

However I could also go with United (Star Alliance) since:
1)On the Singapore trips they will most likely fly me J with Singapore Airlines.
2)Even if this is not required there is no OW airline flying non-stop between the US and Singapore.

The only real issue is that by going with AAdvanatge I would not be consolidating my miles in one program as the US-Spore-US leg would be on Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance). I don't care about having elite status on Singapore Airlines since I'd be in J anyway and they hardly upgrade even their own elites.

I realize this is an AA thread but I'd appreciate any objective input in terms of the difference between AA and UA FF programs. Is one more generous than the other? In terms of product (seting, food etc.) I think they are pretty similar.

Thanks for your help.