If you don't travel to places where major chains are a thing I'd start using something like hotels.com for their free room every 10 nights (you get a credit for the average room price of the previous 10 stays). I use this for all my non SPG & Hyatt stays even when staying with other chains.
As for cards to get the Amex Gold Premier Rewards 50k point bonus seems to be back again and the Business version can be a 50k,75k or 100k bonus depending on the time you apply. Amex Membership Rewards (MR) can be transferred to many airlines which is an advantage. Off-Peak BA awards are a huge value. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a common card but I don't use anything Chase so I'll let others talk about the benefits of the Ultimate Rewards programs.
There is a subforum all about credit cards further down the list from the information desk. Start reading the wikis in the information desk & credit card forums and you'll get better ideas of what will be best for you.