If you prefer straight cash back then I'd suggest (1) Fidelity Amex (2%) on all spend (2) Fidelity Visa (1.5% on first $15K spend then 2% thereafter).

You are right, most of us (at FT) enjoy miles and points far more than cash back. If you don't travel enough by air, then how about hotel points (otherwise why did you come here for input)? Chase has some popular hotel cards without foreign exchange fee, annual fee is offset by free hotel night each year (e.g., Marriott Premier Visa - $85 annual fee offset by annual cat 1-5 free night, Priority Club Visa - 80k signup; $49 annual fee offset by worldwide free night) and both with significant sign-on bonus points.

If you have good credit and not planning to buy a house in short term, it's perfectly okay to apply for several credit cards with good rewards. You need have a clear head with regards to which cards are primarily for sign-on bonus (and recycle as needed), cards to hold for certain benefits, and cards for everyday spend (aside from meeting spend requirement for those sign-on bonus cards).

Lastly, here is an existing thread on no fee cards:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...ds-best-3.html