I actually think that AS has the best mileage program around. It certainly offers the broadest range of choices when it comes to earning and using miles and, since you can plug so many different kinds of miles into an AS account, it avoids the accumulation of orphan miles. You could accumulate all of your trips on AA, NWA, AS, CO, KLM, as well as Horizon, Hawaiian, Quantas, Lan Chile, Amtrak in one place and get points from a bunch of hotels, car rental agency, etc., etc., etc.

The AS bank card is great too and comes with bonus miles, a $50 companion certificate and a couple of upgrades every year.

I have more UA points than AS points, but almost every time I need to use miles the options offered by the AS program are far superior.