It's IAH/EWR-HNL on CO that do not offer free upgrades. HNL-GUM too.

Chase Sapphire Preferred is good, as it offers 2.14 points per dollar spent on travel and dining, however all "misc" spend should still go to the Starwood Amex (and don't rush into converting them to AA or whatever like another poster suggested), the main benefit of SPG is their flexibility to convert to whichever program suits your needs at that time, which may vary depending what type of award you need.