This is a hobby that will take some time; I put a reminder in my calendar to cancel the card 11 months after application. When you call to cancel, they often offer you another year free, bonus points or statement credits to offset the fee. You can take their offer or go ahead and cancel. Note all the Citi AA cards are churnable every 18-24 months: you can get another card and bonus, even if the old one is open.

No, you won't lose airline miles. Credit Card CSRs sometimes say you can lose your points - which you can if you don't earn or use a mile for 18 months. Some cards keep your points from expiring, but you can pick up a few points from their dining, shopping programs, etc. and keep them alive. I would never let them get close to the 18 months. Bank reward points should be transferred or used before closing the card.

You may find some of the blogs listed here helpful in getting started : http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...lyer-blog.html. Most of the writers earn money if you use their links, so you can decide if you want to support them or use public links.

I am traveling with the wife and 2 boys, and find the best international availability on AA and UA, currently have a long weekend booked for August using Southwest points and companion pass (all earned without flying), and a 10 days in France, Italy and Switzerland in November. Now saving for Alaska Aug 2014 and New Zealand/Aus November 2014. So we have, between the 2 of us, 6 AA cards, 1 United, 2 Chase UR, 2 SW, 1 Frontier, 2 USAir, 1 AMEX MR, 1 SPG. All since December.