Well, I can surely tell you that 2 hours is a good start, but it is gonna take you days and days to cover the topics you raised, so keep on keepin' on.

Starwood is at: www.starwood.com

Your profile does not say where you live, so no one can give specific advice on what airlines you should concentrate on, but it is important to pick one or two that meet your needs (fly out of your airport(s), go where yu want to go, etc.) and concentrate on building up miles and status with them. You mentioned "racking up miles for all airline." This is NOT the way to go. You can wind up with 100,000 FF miles so spread out amongst the airlines that you don't have enough with any one for a free ticket!

Also, the elite levels have bonus miles for your travel, so the sooner you hit elite, and the higher elite level you hit, the more miles you are going to score.

It's probably just me, but I don't really understand your third question...I wasn't aware of any cards that charge you interest if you pay in full each month.

It's a lot of work and a lot of info to digest on the various plans, conditions, promotions and bonuses, so I again encourage you to concentrate your efforts on a few airlines/hotels.

Good luck and welcome to FlyerTalk!