I will probably be flying about 60k bis miles on ST airlines next year, in J, mainly on HKG-EWR. (fyi, even though CX is vastly superior, cost wise it is becoming hard to justify the added expense and extra travel time from JFK)

What is the best program to bank my miles in?

I think I will be able to achieve top tier in many of the ST programs, but which offers the most benefits? Status match possible for an EXP with demonstrated frequent travel pattern on HKG-JFK?

If you can use an European, Indian or Israeli address to domicile your account, CO's own OnePass gives a 100% CoS (vs. 50% in the U.S./rest of the world for CO, NW, DL and FB) which counts towards award and status - AZ gives the same but elite bonus is paltry. CO also gives a 125% loyalty bonus for the top tier platinum level so at that level, you'll earn 325% for a paid BC flight. I don't think any ST FFP is that generous other than what KL FD was (FB gives you 200% CoS in FC but that's probably way more than CX for HKG-NYC).

If you can domicile your account in east Asia, NW gives you complimentary WorldClubs membership at the Gold/Platinum level. This may come in handy for domestic U.S. travel as ST Elite Plus status only gives you lounge access for int'l flights.

If UGs are important to you and you can use them on DL, DL gives its platinum members systemwide upgrades.

I think elite benefits are generally uniform otherwise though some airlines have benefits for their local countries (which may not be of much use to use).

The trouble with a few of the U.S. FFPs (namely CO and NW) is that using miles for premium class travel is reported to be difficult.

As for a status match, it wouldn't hurt to send a copy of your AA EXP statement to CO. Even if they only match you to Gold, you'll earn 300% miles for paid BC.

See:
http://www.continental.com/web/en-GB...F8A10C2EC56C4E