Hi,

For what it's worth, UA actually has a similar million-miler deal. If you fly a million _actual flight_ miles, you're 1P (Prem. Ex, the next-to-highest level of elite) for life.

I didn't pay attention before I clicked on reply, so I don't know where you're based out of -- but you should probably base your decision in large part (duh) on which airline is more of a presence in your market. Ie, I live in Boulder, which is near Denver, which is a hub for UA -- so I fly United almost exclusively. I've been quite happy with their ff program.