Originally Posted by Helena Handbaskets
I'll soon be looking for a CC according to the OP's specs, and my current plan is to go with a CapitalOne or [other vendor whose name I can't remember right now] card that doesn't earn Skymiles, but earns points at about a 1% rate that can be used to purchase tickets. The drawback is that there are some restrictions to the tickets you can buy, such as 30 day(?) advance purchase and Saturday stay, and they can't be combined with Skymiles. But on the plus side, you can use the points for any airline with no blackouts, and when you fly, you earn miles for the "free" trip. Plus, these cards (both VISA, if I recall correctly) have no annual fee.
In looking at the fine print of one of those cards it did not look like a very good deal - at least for frequent travelers. Their "awards" are more restrictive than SkyMiles.
I think John C got it right in that the cashback cards are the more realistic choice.
I will also go out on a limb and say that _any_ affinity card as a sole source of miles/points is pretty worthless (especially if they charge a fee) unless you charge well into the five figures (or more) annually.