First of all I fly mostly out of STL, MEM, and MCI....
The last couple of years I've been mostly driving for my work but as my dad is getting older I'm starting to take on more responsibilities in the business and am going to start flying more more this year than in years past (for instance my dad is a Premier Exec on UA for life and is currently executive plat on AA)

This year I'll probably only attain low level elite status...but in the future it is quite possible I'll be flying alot more.....

My travel will mostly be on a fare dependent basis as I basically have a sales like job with great flexibilty in where I'm going most of the time.... and basically jump on cheap fares...for now

So 95% of the time I'm going to be traveling on cheap fares....
Most travel will be to major cities in the states with 4 or 5 international trips thrown in mostly to mex or caribbean (can pay my dad to us his miles for those crazy AA locals in the carib though) maybe a trip to Europe or Asia if I can get a cheap fare for the times I would need to be there for conventions...

The most important thing for me is at this point is probably the ability to get good fares consistently, after that upgrades at a low level elite on cheapy fares, and then bump likelyhood (if they really differ much)

I was thinking about a skyteam member (usually seems to be at least one cheap fare on either CO, DL, or NW where I'm going)but have a question....when I'm flying on DL and CO will I get EQM's towards NW elite if traveling on cheap fares? Thinking about NW the most right now but still not sure...

Thanks for any advice...you can give me...or maybe some help in things I'm not considering etc..

What program would you pick for me and what did you pick for yourself and why?

as a low level elite, i doubt you'll be getting many "bump-up" upgrades. when the economy cabin is oversold, the airlines normally start at the top of their ff status list and work their way down so the few upgrades are normally snatched by uber-elites. one way to enhance your prospects of getting bumped up (though not very reliable) would be to pick an airline that doesn't have a strong presence in the cities to which you will be flying so that there are fewer elites to compete with (i.e. don't pick ua if you are flying to-from sfo).

i think your dad has it right with his choice of aa and exec plat. with exec plat way you'd get domestic (inc. mex and caribbean) upgrades on whatever published fare you fly on as long as the space is available (and it normally is). continental offers complimentary upgrades to all elite levels but people i know routinely discuss how difficult it is to get upgraded due to the number of elites overwhelming the number of upgrade seats. a discounted ticket on co would further lower your upgrade chances.

all in all i'd suggest either co (because an occasional upgrade (for a low level elite) is better than none and you can credit your travel from dl and nw). or i would choose aa (with the goal of eventually becoming exec plat). keep in mind that with co, you will only earn 50% eqm if you are traveling on the lower coach fares you mention (incl nw and dl) so obtaining gold on co (at 50k eqm miles) could mean you'd need to fly 100k actual miles at which point you would have become exec plat on aa had you chosen them (since aa allow exec plat qualification on *either* eqm or actual miles).

if your travel continues to grow, follow in your father's wake and go for aa exec plat. i think that would be the best option to provide you with the fare flexibility and upgrade efficacy you are seeking.

IIRC if you buy your ticket on continental.com you get 100% EQM. Doesn't help with the cheap Delta/NW fares though

hmm sounds like a major neg against CO to me... I book alot of t fares etc...

I think your upgrades on cheapy domestic flights as a low-level elite will be much more apt to happen on Northwest than some other airlines. Flights to the west coast have a lower upgrade level.

With all the merger rumors certainly everything will be in flux - no one can know what the next few years may bring!

One good thing with NW - is you can still earn qualifying miles on Delta (100% qualifying miles, but no upgrades) and Continental (some upgrades, but only 50% qualifying miles when a cheapy fare).

Good luck!

Since you are already leaning toward Skyteam due to fare availability and fly in/out of MEM, I think NW is your best bet. Upgrades are more likely to be had than with CO, and as already stated, you'll receive 100% EQM from all Delta fares and 50% or 100% on CO. Also, if you ever travel with another person, the platinum companion upgrade is a nice unique benefit with NW (that's at the 5 day out window, not just at the gate).

Yeah, I'm really leaning towards DL or NW.....
I love United's system but man they're FF program looks ugly compared to the rest unless you fly full fare all the time....no comp upgrades even for 1k on cheapy fares, are you kidding me!!

I guess it comes down to DL, NW, or AA for me....

AA pretty much sucks for me until Explat...so I dunno, guess I'll talk it over with my dad and ask for his advice too....

Any notions in the NW vs Delta arguement?

"as a low level elite, i doubt you'll be getting many "bump-up" upgrades. when the economy cabin is oversold, the airlines normally start at the top of their ff status list and work their way down so the few upgrades are normally snatched by uber-elites."

Not hard to tell who he flies on. Some companies upgrade people comestically without being oversold.

Unless you fly 100K+ and really care about the ability to be upgraded internationally, NW is really your best choice with CO being second. Flying on NW regardless of fare you'll get 100% EQM regardless of where you book it. You'll get upgrades on NW where available and also upgrades on CO where available. You can fly NW, CO, DL or AS and get points on all of them. The number of EQM will vary. You will get the upgrades on NW/CO once you get to any elite level. Basically, when they have the space, they start upgrading by status/fare. Also, getting a lounge pass for World Club will let you in the lounges of each of those airlines.

In terms of NW vs CO, the former gives you a few benefits. NW gives a better upgrade percentage, at platinum they give miles if you don't get upgraded, don't require booking at NWA.com to get 100% EQM and have better offers than CO. You also get to upgrade on AS with NW.

I would not go DL. You won't get upgrades on CO/NW as an elite. Only on DL.

Flying internationally if you fly over 100K EQM per year then UA or AA are better choices. AA will automatically upgrade you domestically if you get top status, but that takes 100K and you still pay for your own drinks in their lounges. With over 100K EQM per year, they will both give you system wide upgrades that you can use internationally.

"I love United's system but man they're FF program looks ugly compared to the rest unless you fly full fare all the time....no comp upgrades even for 1k on cheapy fares, are you kidding me!!"

They give you those upgrade coupons. Mine used to expire before I got to use them. If you don't have enough, you have to buy more. I've flow on UA plenty of times as a gold elite and had many seats open up front while I sat in back tired, cramped and pissed off.

I probably would go with NW, because even as Silver you often get upgrades to FC domestically. upgradesuccess.com gives some limited info if you want to compare upgrades among the airlines.

I'm pretty happy with NW's program overall and the ability to earn on CO DL AS & KLM. Also now Midwest Express too....and all of their other partners.

One further consideration.....as a silver...

DL silvers get a 25% mileage bonus while NW silvers get a 50% mileage bonus.

Now when you jump up to Gold it is 100% bonus for both DL and NW.

Southwest does not serve MEM, but they have good flight options for STL and MCI. If you fly 32 one-way trips they automatically check you in and you get very early boarding. That's it for elite perks, unless you can rack up 100 credits in a year with the help of credit cards and score a Companion Pass.

Since you're spending your own money, you might want to check out this and a lot more in the Southwest Wiki FAQ.

If you hate commuter jets and turboprops, Southwest might win on that score with its 100% 737 fleet.

Just an idea... If your dad has the same name as yourself (not unlikely in the US) you might want to consider a status match with HIS UA PremEx or EXP to NW Gold.

Works pretty fast and good in my eyes.

I had thought about trying something like that considering his name has the same first letter as my middle initial....don't think I could swing that to work though....