Starwood preferred guest. First year is free and $25/year thereafter. Allows you to earn miles on any airline and at starwood hotels. Starwood points transfer to most major carriers at 1:1 ratio. Redeem 20,000 starwood points and get 5,000 bonus miles on airline. Top up your orphan miles with starpoints. There is no better card in my opinion. As a backup cc, you might want to get a Bronze AA MC with no fee, $2 for 1 mile.

dac