Here is my advice, and it may be worth what you're paying for it.......

If you are not flying a lot for business, then don't worry to much about air miles. Chances are it will take a long time to get enough miles to be able to use, and then you might find popular destinations are not available when you want to go. If you do decide on air miles, decide where you want the miles to take you, then find out who flies there and how many miles it will take to get the tickets when you want to go. Make sure and see if it takes more miles at different times of the year.

Since our business travel has been relegated to Southwest, I have started concentrating on hotel points.

Here are my reasons:

A flight may last 4-10 hours one-way but it is just for those hours. I can usually plan in advance and budget to buy a ticket.

Once we get where we are going, I am looking to spend 10-14 days in a nice hotel. Many hotels cost US$100-400 + taxes and fees. You can accumulate hotel points faster and easier than air miles, IMO, and there are usually more rooms available than seats on a plane. You can get fee free credit cards that give 5-10 points per $1 spent. You can easily earn enough for a free week at a top hotel in a few months. Most hotels will give you at least lowest status just for getting the credit card and some will give mid tier if you spend enough on the card.

So figure what your priorities are. Trying for free flights, or getting a week or more free in a hotel. I know London hotels can cost over $400 a night. I haven't paid for a hotel in over 4 years. Do your own math. If the flights are really expensive to where you want to go, but the hotels cheap, go with airmiles. If you can afford theflights but want to stay in an expensive hotel, go with hotel points.

Just pick which program is right for you. Hotel points rely less on where you live now and are a bit more flexible.