A decent laminate ($2.50 - $3.50/sf) with a nice underpad will withstand 15-25 years of abuse (depending on how abusive you are and how 'wet' you like to clean and how 'wet' the floor gets at other times).

Laminate should NOT be installed in kitchens or bathrooms. You will need to switch out the material for the kitchen and certainly the bathrooms.

A good/very good laminate can out perform a poorly manufactured engineered hardwood. Shaw has some known issues with some of their engineered hardwoods. Others are OK.

It is your call, but I would take a 'good' laminate over a 'bad' engineered hardwood. But then again I'll happily take a cork floating floor over anything else...which makes me a bit of a misfit who can handle a picky floor.

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately the only engineered hardwood option with our builder is Shaw and the reviews I’ve read on multiple sites are terrible; they have even had class action lawsuits filed against them. The laminate will be on our entire first floor (except bathrooms), and in our upstairs hallway and loft area. I can mentally get over the fact that it’s not wood, but had head that sometimes it can bubble or start to peak; I’m assuming that’s mainly if humidity levels get high (hence one of the other reasons not to put it in bathrooms).

Big decision to make since it will be in so much of the house and we don’t want to end up having to rip up and replace floors a few years in like I’ve heard some people having to do with Shaw.

You will want to choose another floor for the kitchen. The biggest issue with laminates in kitchens is the dishwasher. Dishwashers are hot and humid and the flooring takes the brunt of it over time. I've seen laminates bubble and peel in front of a dishwasher inside of 3 years. I would personally go with tile or a tile/stone-look vinyl product in the kitchen (or whatever you choose for the bathrooms).