Hi,

I'm fairly new here and I've been reading some of the posts here about which mileage plan best suits which travelers. So, in keeping with that tradition, I'm hoping someone can help me choose which program to signup with.

I currently go to school in PHL (UPenn) but I live in SFO so I've narrowed my choices down to US's Dividend Miles and UA's Mileage Plus. I unfortunately dont do too much flying, traditionally 5-6 transcons/year and a couple of short regional trips. However I'm sort of embarking on a little flying flurry in the next month or so (May 4 - May 18) and I'll be flying the following segments on *A metal. So I figure that I'll qualify for the lowest tier of some program and maybe the middle or upper tiers if my summer consulting job requires travel.

Upcoming Flights
PHL-ORD-SFO-LAX
LAX-PIT-ART-PIT-ORD-SFO
OAK-DEN-ORD-PHL
PHL-FRA-FCO
MAD-LHR
LHR-SFO

All in all, I think it adds up to around 24849EQM and for a poor college student the allure of upgrades and the like are a pretty big deal. So, any suggestions on which program I should join and the pro's and cons of either one.

Thanks a lot.