My diminutive credit union has a great deal on a Visa gold card...no annual fee, no cash advance fee, 12.3% fixed interest (tied to prime rate) and a points-based rewards program at 1 mile=1 point. It's called the Scorecard program and it's administered by an outfit in Minneapolis that I'm sure does the same for other CUs.

The kicker is that some of the award tickets are structured as paid tickets. So you have to pay the segment taxes and PFCs, but you earn miles and are eligible for upgrades. I used 25,000 points in this to get a Continental ticket RT from ATL to Anchorage in September, earning miles and getting elite upgrades, all for $13. It was quite a deal.

Most trips are booked through the travel branch of Scorecard (i.e. they pick the airline, though you might be able to influence it if fares are equal). The 48 US and Canada are 20,000 points with that, and on most airlines the ticket earns miles.

US Airways, though, has a separate deal for 25,000 points covering the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico that also earns miles.

Anyway, if you're lucky enough to be able to join a credit union you might well look into credit-card deals they have. CUs don't have money to advertise and make noise like banks, and they don't do gimmicks like teaser rates. OTOH, they have tougher credit standards and won't give your dog a card, meaning less losses. And much more benefits passed to the customer.