Which airline program would you recommend in my case?
 

Hello,

I know that this is a variation on a common question, but I would like your recommendation...

I am about to fly JFK-CCS-JFK on AA in Business class. In Jan. I would be flying business class Europe(don't know where from yet)-Hong-Kong-JFK and it has to be on Cathay Pacific. I currently have Star Alliance Gold (with Lufthansa) and do most of my travel with Star alliance. I have two addresses (USA and Germany) and in the future, I could do some of my flights to England, to Spain, from England to the States, and flights within the US on oneworld. I guess I could do travel to Asia on either oneworld or star alliance. My travel would be a mix of economy and business.

So, which program would you recommend for me to join? FF program priorities for me are: priority check-in, lounge access, luggage allowance, possibility for upgrades with miles. Is there a program/airline that does operational upgrades more often than others?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Given flights within the US and superior earn/ burn ratios would have to say AA.
Sign yourself up for the AA (lack of) challenge before the rules change to get a starting status.

More details about the AA challenge would be found HERE .

AA don't permit lounge access for domestic flights simply with status, whereas if you picked another program you would get it. Depends how much domestic (North America) AA travel you'll do whether this will be a problem.

I would go with BA Exec Club. Since you have a German address the mileage thersholds are low. You do have to fly 4 BA segments in a year though, but since you're in Europe that should be easy.

Alternatively you could do a Plat Challenge but I think the requirement has change and you must qualify on AA metal. Is JFK-CCS-JFK give enough EQMs?

No for Platinum, yes for Gold.

Careful, not just 4 BA segments, but 4 tier-points earning segments (H class or higher).