Signing up and earning miles with Etihad is a good alternative, if you are planning future trips to the Middle East, Africa or Asia — but still gives you very limited choices in Europe, with the bankruptcy of
airberlin and alitalia... An
even better solution might be to sign up for ANA Mileage Club, as you will be able to redeem for flights
on StarAlliance airlines, like Lufthansa, Swiss, SAS and LOT, giving you lots of options from Europe!