Originally Posted by pinniped

Well, in order to take advantage of credit card rewards, you kind of have to go through a change in mindset: you start running everything through the credit card. Your golf, shopping, home depot, petrol, auto maintenance, some of your monthly bills, groceries, restaurants, and almost any other little expense you have: you push it through the credit card and pay it off every month.

The catch: the rewards cards like SPG Amex have very punitive interest rates, so your change in mindset must also come with the absolute discipline to pay the bill in full every month.

If you don't want to undergo this fundamental change, then a quick & easy cash rebate card is probably best. You get a couple bucks a month in cash or petrol and you're done with it. The hotel/air cards become worthwhile when you log significant volume.