Normal miles are usually referred to as redeemable miles or RDM for short. These are used to book award tickets. They can be earned by flying, through CC spend, online shopping, various promotions and many other ways. Since you don't fly much and want to get international award tickets, this is what you need to focus on.

Elite qualifying miles, or EQM, determine your elite status with an airline. These are usually earned only by flying. You usually need to earn at least 25,000 EQM in a year with the same airline to qualify for things like checking free baggage, seat upgrades and other perks.

Flying usually gets you both RDMs and EQMs. All other mileage-earning activities usually get you just RDMs.

Hope that clarifies things for you a bit!