Welcome aboard! In my pre-Flyertalk days, I looked for the most direct flight. Now, unless there is a timing issue with business travel, I look for itins with the most segments. I travel mostly within North America, and I will have almost 100 segments this year (not all on AC, most unfortunately, but enough for Elite). You do get some funny questions like, "Why are you flying through three different places when there is a direct flight?"