Cap'n Benj is speaking some sense up there, more clearly than I was trying to do.

I think your best bet is to get something in place for the time being to capture your spending, even if its just a free card, and then go read a bunch of Head for Points posts about best cards, strategies for different types of flying, how to value points in cash terms in order to assess value, and, for the advanced points connoisseur, strategies around using other programs as transfers for agnostic cards (the Air Canada Aeroplan approach is the one we are moving towards once the BA paid card comes up for renewal this year). Getting a little knowledge will go a long way - we dont play the points game nearly as hard as others, and yet we've been able to upgrade our flying almost entirely into business through using a few pro tips and sticking to them.

Econ is typically considered a poor use of points unless its extremely last minute and tickets are high - you really would be better off researching the cash fare at that point.