I'd like to say something useful, but I think wise2u really hit the nails on the head.

One thing that really helps is a supportive spouse with a great credit rating. I'm very lucky, my wife stays completely out of my way and lives in another country so she doesn't even care that much about her USA credit file.

You have to assess how much spending you can do or manufacture and obviously to make sure you will absolutely positively not get yourself into financial distress.

And be sensible about the points you accrue. I started out getting points for my wife to travel to the USA so we could see each other. Then I went for points for overseas trips, because my wife's family is in Europe. We took a trip to Paris, so I slipped a couple hotel cards in there. Now that I work in Bermuda, I'm working on points for Southwest and Airtran because after the merger is complete they will have flights to Bermuda that are reasonably priced in award points. I don't sign up for cards just because they're there.

This has become my second major hobby (along with bridge) and it's a pretty lucrative one. It felt pretty good when I told my wife "You're never flying coach to Europe again."

One final note though, don't assume that just because you have points out the wazoo that you can actually use them. It sometimes takes careful planning. I probably spent 20-30 hours last fall just finding the best ticket for my wife's trip to see her family this coming summer. And I may change it yet again, if I can "upgrade" her from first class on United to first class on Lufthansa. But obviously this stuff wouldn't be remotely possible without all the card churning.

BTW, I never do "app-o-ramas." I would say that I apply for 6-8 cards a year for each of us, at 4-8 week intervals. If someone could tell me to a moral certainty that the bonus gravy train would go on indefinitely, I'd probably slow down. But if one day the bonuses stop, I would be kicking myself big-time if I hadn't maximized them now.