[NM]

My issue with the QF FF program is the very high points burn rate (cost of award flights) and the way they include fuel surcharges as a co-payment with award flights.

So I maintain my QF FF account for the purpose of spending the QF FF points on upgrading QF flights. I supplement my QF FF account with points-earning Australian credit cards (Amex, Visa and a corporate Diners). Having Qantas Lifetime Gold status helps since I will always have reasonable status when it comes to priority on waitlists for upgrades.

I now use my AAdvantage account for crediting all my OneWorld flights. This is the main AA miles earning opportunity I have, along with a few small amounts from hotels, car rentals, surveys, promotions etc. The AA miles are going to be used for award flights, since the cost in miles/points is significantly less than with QF (for Australia/NZ awards which are my most likely redemptions) and they do not charge the fuel fines as a co-payment.

I tend to keep my hotel points within the hotel's program and concentrate on one or two programs, and then use those for free stays for family getaways.

I can't help much on the OneWorld vs Star Alliance since I decided years ago to try to keep all my travel to one program and as our corporate travel policy back then was to use QF, that made my decision. But there are plenty of very experienced people here (and KF has already chimed in) who can help with that part of your query.