Starwood Amex is hands down the best deal going these days, in my opinion. This includes hotel and airline cards. My reasons are:

- No annual fee the first year, then $30 thereafter.
- Points can be converted 1:1 into about 25 airlines' programs, including all major US airlines except Southwest.
- If you transfer 20k points, you get 25k miles on all airlines.
- Points can be redeemed for free nights at any Starwood property with no blackout dates or capacity controls.