given your travel patterns, I would probably go with Alaska, not AA. AAs program only has a few partners who you can credit to which will be of use to you (e.g. most CX fares don't get credit,and its via HKG, ditto JAL, you can't credit on BA) so going the pacific routes with a AA number is not such a good deal. Alaska milage also never expires, and they bridge Skyteam and OneWorld, anyone except UA. Its a nice number to have and gets you many places, they also cover LAX well up and down the coast.

I would also not rule out UA. The main benifit with them is that you get e+ which is a special section with between 34 and 36" pitch (rather than the usual 31" pitch.) If you are going to be flying Coach - and you are, with this level of flights you don't get the really useful upgrade certs - its really nice, especially if you are over about 5'6" For many lower level MP folks, its the best benifit there is. For example it keeps my mom (who travels 2-4 international flights a year) loyal to UA.

This said, its only on UA metal (not a problem, they go all the places you have mentioned).

I agree with the earlier poster that awards are easier to get on AA than UA. This said, everyone is talking Business Class (C) or First (F) awards to overseas destinations. If you want bang for your buck and are going coach, then you can always get the flights you need on UA.

good luck!

Living in LA and looking to fly coach sorry to say it has to be UA if under 100,000 miles a year.

IMHO AA only works for you if you fly in excess of 100,000 miles and get the 8 E-VIPs.

Suggest you post on UA Forum on how to get elite status quickly to enjoy E+ seating.

It does expire if you don't have activity, just like AA, UA, etc.

But as with all the US-based "network" airlines, any activity resets the expiration clock for at least another 18 months (in the case of Alaska, AA, and UA, activity includes the dining program, which has plenty of particpating restaurants in SoCal, where the OP is based).

Depends on how tall you are.

Among other things, elite status gives you access to exit row seats (how well that access works can depend on how long in advance you book and how specific your flight dates/times are; ie, if you tend to book late and aren't flexible on which day/time you can fly late the exit row seats on that plane -- as few as 4 on an AA 777 -- may be all taken by then).

Thus taller people tend to value this aspect of elite status more than shorter people.

Elite status will get you boarding faster (before the "masses" who don't have it).

Some of the other perks of elite status (lots of bonus miles on flights, access to lounges on int'l flights) require you to get to the second level of elite status.

Btw, who's paying for these flights, you or your employer? (You may be able to get to the second level of elite -- for at least half a year -- quickly at AA if you time a Challenge right relative to a long int'l flight, but that may require paying a little more than the cheapest fare that one time, which may be relatively easy if you're paying, but may be out of the question if your employer is paying.)

Yes AA is you have to have some sort of activity within 18 months or they expire.

based on the network, i'd pick AA/oneworld.

AA/oneworld has better connections in south america compared to UA/staralliance.

unless u're flying to major cities like beijing and shanghai, CX/JL/oneworld would give better connections there.

i'm sure BA's economy is a better choice than UA/AA

South America is a given, but it sounds like the OP is making one trip to each place and not necessarily around the continent. In that case UA does just fine.

*A does have two Chinese airlines and one Japanese airline, so I'm not sure how you figure that's a OW perk.

For the service, probably. For the seat? No regular coach seat beats a UA E+ seat.

Chris