I went through the same thing last year. I decided to use UA - hit 1K - as my dominate airline of choice because they fly to so many destinations. I went ahead and got my status comped on as many airlines as I could, because every so often I get booked somewhere else. AA, TWA, DL, US & CO will comp you a status.

I'm a Diamond HHonors member, however Starwood is the best program out there. You can also send a copy of you Hilton card to Hyatt and they will match your status.