Seems like everyone has a "story" to tell on how earning points works well for them. I don't consider myself that knowledgeable...in fact, if I read more on this board, I'd probably find even better ways to earn than how we earn now...but here's what we do:

We have a Quicken Platinum Visa which earns us "Traveler Miles". Basically, it earns us one point per dollar spent but what I like about it, is, it earns us a RT ticket anywhere in the Continental U.S. with 25,000, or $100 off an airfare with 8,000 points. So, you can choose how it works best for you. There are also lots of other offers for using your points with this card. My husband and I both charge pretty much everything to this card, pay it off and it gets us a good amount of free tickets for our family of four, for our planned vacations. I just used our points to purchase 3 RT tickets to Seattle for a planned August Alaskan cruise. The 4th ticket, I got with my leftover NWA WP miles that I had before cancelling that card. I cancelled that because I just don't find it worth our while once you get hit by the Rulebusters.

I also just signed up for a Marriott Visa because I stay at a Marriott for work-related events since it's right in our building and can earn points easily. I also really like Marriotts so I thought we could utilize points earned for vacation stays at Marriotts.

Like I said, mine is only a minor "success story", but so far, it has worked well for us! Thanks to all on this site for "educating" me even more!

Deb