Originally Posted by
Enigma
I wouldn't rely on credit cards as you'll have no credit history here. I learnt this painful lesson when I lived overseas - I had all the right criteria to get a card, but no history and got rejected each time.
There is an easy way around this. Get an Amex card in your home country and move it to your new country.
Djc0, just be aware that the concept you are used to from the US will not work here: In the US you will buy economy fares and have coupons/miles/something to always upgrade people with status to business/first. This is not happening in the rest of the world. QF and other airlines make it very hard to get upgrades and even with top status and a million miles your upgrades will not come through often.
If I were you I would stay with UA for your international flights. You can use the SWUs to upgrade on your flight to the US. If you get paper SWUs you can upgrade on LH on your flights to Europe which is an excellent deal.
For domestic travel, join AA or QF and get a Qantas Club Membership for lounge access.