While, I wouldn't exactly call myself a veteran of FT, I have learned a lot in the 4 months I've been on here. I remember how overwhelming it all can be. Depending on what you want to accomplish, you'll want to look at different forums, so give the site a quick browse, just to see the various types of forums out there. After that, I recommend you read the stickies for the areas you're interested in. Because it's that important, I'll say it again. Read the stickies. They really helped me a lot. After that, just try and keep up with reading the forums that are of interest to you. After a few weeks, most of the major stuff in that particular FF/Hotel/Credit card program will likely have been discussed in the threads to some extent. You'll be surprised how quickly you catch on. Welcome to FT!