In my opinion .... Continental is a must. There will be a lot of offers like SPG Points, Amex points, etc that you can easily transfer to Continental which has a huge partner network. Like flying business class to Europe and paying $168 for your seat? Go for it.

American Airlines is a must for me because I get miles every month from BankDirect.

Like I said, don't go crazy especially in the beginning. Read the forum. Learn. As you get your deals from new credit cards, consider closing them at least 6-7 after you open them (not earlier). You don't want to pay that annual fee.

Major players are AA, Continental, Delta Skymiles, British Airways, ..... might want to get a Chase United Airlines card ... currently around 40K miles I think. As Continental and UA will merge soon, your miles will be combined.

Just go for great offers. If nothing great is available, wait it out. Don't apply just to apply.

You got the AA Citi visa 75K for your self and mom? In 30-40 days try to apply for their business card. May get another 75K miles.

If you want to take a chance on something right now .... find the Amex Gold card application and apply. Once you get the card, call them and say that your friend applied for same card and got 75K points and you would like the same or else you won't activate it. Hope for the best. I got lucky. Many people were turned down but their mistake was .... they gave up. Instead, hang up and call back later. It all depends on who you get on the phone.