Matt you make some good points about why
a Universal FF card might cause problems.
But if you make a reservation and mention
the program you want I think you would be protected from miles going into the wrong account.

But there should be a failsafe measure where
if that does happen then you have a time frame to get the miles corrected. (I don't
know how this would work... As I said this
is just a wild idea.)

In my experience, United doesn't pay a big
deal about the card. Neither does Continental. But American always demanded me
to show my card, even as a lowly average member. So does Delta when I check if my Skymiles number is in there.

Pgupta011... thanks for the vote of confidence! Here's to fewer cards, phone
calls, web site clicks and easier miles!
CATMAN