XJT is a much more guaranteed way to get IAH.

Out of the most recent class of CRJ new hires, 4 out of the 10 are going to IAH, 1 to CRP (voluntarily) and the rest to SDF. Travel benefits are a function of your base. Since the CRJ program is not growing, they are only hiring for attrition/upgrades and I believe they have another class coming up soon. God only knows when the next one would be, but CHQ CRJ is the only way you're getting to IAH with RAH.

Being based in IAH gives you benefits on CAL only (since that's the only flying you do outta IAH) for you and immediate family (parents, spouse, kids under 21 or 23 or something like that). You can always jumpseat on pretty much anyone if you're traveling alone.

It's no big secret that the CRJ is going away and will be gone by 2010. What, if anything, replaces it remains to be seen. I've heard everything from a 145 base in Houston to all the flying moving to CLE to anything in between. No one on my pay scale knows at this point.