I'm thinking about making the switch over to PokerStars some time later this year.  It's pretty sad, really.  Full Tilt's kind of been like that first puppy you had that you found on the street with a limp and half a tail. Yeah, it's not perfect, but you grow to love it.  But at the end of the day, I can probably make another $40K a year playing on Stars, which is not a ton of money but it's not insignificant either.  It's basically that sweet new ride I was thinking of getting next year (later post).  Below is a summary of Stars' bonus plan:

There are a few caveats to the table.  The full details are in this thread for anyone who's interested.  Right now, I'm on pace to pay 185K in rake this year, which means I'm on pace to qualify for SuperNova Elite.  SNE starts at a rakeback percentage of 58%, compared to the 35% or so I would get at FT (27% rakeback + rake race + FT Points + Ironman).  After I get to SNE, I wouldn't have to play anywhere near as much to maintain it - so I just have to play hard for a year.

There are a bunch of reasons for the move:
* The $40+K a year in rakeback.
* Some of the games seem to be dying on FT - notably the full ring games 2/4 and higher.  PS has over twice as many cash game tables.
* Twice as many customers means the tournaments are much bigger. 
* PS's customer service is first rate.
* My FT rakeback provider seems to be cutting back a little on its rake races - for the next two months, instead of the rake race, they have a massive freeroll tournament.  That's $2500 down the drain for me.  Part of the reason for this may be that FT has been putting downward financial pressure on its affiliates, and that will probably not go away.
* I have bought up just about everything I need from the FT store, so my future FT points will not be worth as much to me.  Also, at PS's store, you can buy anything you want and send them the receipt to be reimbursed.

The main things holding me back are:
* I like the FT software
* I'm developing a weird addiction to Rush (which is only available on FT).  But my long term plans don't involve playing 1/2 Rush.
* PS is allegedly harder - something I'm not too concerned about.  I think the difficulty difference is minimal because in equilibrium, you would have more Stars regs move to FT if this was the case.
* FT is supposed to come out with another rewards program later this year, but I'm suspecting it might be lame.  I'm hoping they use the affiliate money for the rewards program, but who knows?

I'm going to wait until the end of the year to decide, since I can only try to qualify for SNE on a calendar year basis.  Sainter's probably breathing a huge sigh of relief that I'll be staying for a few more months at least.