Thanks to y'all, I've recently been approved for credit cards with travel promotions that will keep me happily flying for the next year. I happen to be very frugal :::squeaksqueak::: and have had to think hard about how to spend five thousand $USD to qualify for those promotions. In case anyone else is in the same boat ...

A quick analysis of my Quicken files reveals that I spend mostly at Costco and at my favorite gasoline supplier (not Costco). As it happens, both of these vendors offer gift cards. So I'm buying gift cards for about 6 months of expenditures at these vendors.

Hope this helps someone else.