I am a United 1K - * alliance gold and I'm expecting to move to Finland (Jyvasklya/Helsinki) in August. I expect to fly much less in Finland, probably not enough to attain even basic status, so in order to extend elite benefits as long as possible I would ask for a status match throughout 2007. I will have a lot of UA miles (* alliance).

I will fly mainly inside Europe, with occasional flights to South America (may be once a year) and possibly the US.

The alternatives seem to be:

* Finnair. Natural choice since it's Finland's national carrier. Elite program doesn't seem to enticing, but it's part of one world.
* SAS. Also a natural choice since it's the only regional * alliance airline and has a comprehensive network. I don't know much about their FF program.
* Stay in United. Redemption rates are lower, and I may be able to keep accumulating miles through promos (credit cards, etc)... on the other hand since I probably won't set foot on a UA plane again, I'm not sure this makes any sense.
* Just give up on FF programs, burn all of my miles and then just go with the cheapest option each time.

Any advice on these or any other options will be greatly appreciated. TIA .