16 new cards over the past 18 months? Hah! Yeah, you're already on a "holiday" whether you want to be or not, and you won't be getting any new cards for a long time, at least from some (most?) of the banks (Chase for sure, probably Bank of America, possibly others).
The game has changed significantly in the past few months.
The most abusive of the bloggers and rampant churners have killed several golden geese, and now if you have more than a handful of new credit card apps (across a long period - in some cases up to 2 years) with many banks you'll be denied. This is the new normal. Nobody knows all the details, so nobody can tell you when you might be safe to re-start. I'd give it a rest for an absolute minimum of 6 months, maybe a year or more, but since we're in new territory, nobody really knows. Enjoy your holiday.