Originally Posted by Amberite

Hi everyone. I'm trying to get into this whole thing after reading a lot about it, and hearing about it from some friends. However, the amount of info out there is really daunting, and the more I read, the more I get confused. I just have a few quick questions which would really help me get started

1. From what I can gather, 95% of the ways of getting miles and hotel points is through credit card promotions, is this right?
2. There aren't really any great hotel programs, except maybe Starwoods?
3. Most importantly - Mainly, accruing points is done through signing up for credit cards. I've heard both arguments - that it doesn't affect your credit at all, and that it does. Which is it really? I have an Experian service that gives me monthly credit reports, and in their glossary section, they very specifically state that too many hard inquiries (ie, when signing up for a credit card) within 2 years is a bad sign and lowers your credit score. Is this true, not true, what's the real deal?

These 3 questions are really all I need answers on before I move forward. Thanks so much in advance for any answers.