The basics are to stick to the airline or alliance that you might fly to the destinations you want to go, and the hotel chains that you might stay at either now or in the future. Waiting is fine, although you might want to try again at six months. With such a low credit limit higher utilization is to be expected, just don't roll your balance over and have to pay interest. Freedom is good because of the transferability of points through the Chase network. No need to spread your spend, as long as you don't get near about 80% of your credit limit on statement closing (remember that utilization is calculated when a statement cuts, so consider prepaying if you need to get it down).