welcome. having been around a little while, i think this forum has gotten a bit more kindler and gentler. i wouldn't say harmless, but it is much better than it used to be. a year or sixteen months ago, this forum was just filled with a lot of nasty people.

so, i don't think you will be flamed. welcome.

regarding combining accounts, there is no way to do this. right now, there are only subtle advantages to having miles on one airline or another.

i love how you get elite upgrades on NW mileage tickets from coach. since your wife and your sister have so few miles, maybe they should start collecting NW miles. they don't have many orphan miles. or, maybe you could have them wait until they collect 25,000 miles so that they could at least get a free ticket. then, they could start with NW. it's really a toss up.