[QUOTE=chicagoariel;9037737]Thank you all very much for this help. I'll definitely look in to the sign-up bonus for the airline credit cards, but they seem to be cracking down a little and demanding you spend on them -- which I'm not willing to do.

I think ruling out mileage credit cards is a huge mistake if you care about free travel. Some of the sign-up bonuses are enough for a free ticket (or at least were when I got mine) and if you travel this much, think of what you are leaving on the table. By the time you book a $250 plane ticket, stay 3 nights in a $150/night hotel, pay $150 for a rental car, and spend $150 eating out on a trip, you're looking at 1,000 miles you just left on the table. You should at least check out the Starwood American Express card information on pgary's website (linked above) -- you can transfer the hotel points into miles with many airlines, and hotel costs (at least at nicer properties) can often far exceed the cost of a plane ticket, so if cheap or free premium travel is important to you, hotel points can be huge.

Also (particularly because you are most interested in free travel) on pgary's website if you haven't already, learn about (and register at least one credit card each with) the American and United dining programs so you can get additional miles without traveling.