That 15K bonus for the United credit card looked awfully good, so I got one around the first of the year - I haven't got my statement yet but it doesn't appear they are going to charge me the annual fee now.

My new Delta card, on the other hand, shows an $80 fee tacked on right away when I go to the AmEx website - haven't received my statement on that one either but I don't really want to pay any annual fees if I don't have to. I'm going to ask Delta AmEx if they can bump the fee down to $30 (said somewhere in the literature they sent that you can have a $30 fee if you already carry another "qualified card" from AmEx (I have a couple other AmEx cards, so I'm hoping those qualify).

Does anyone know whether the Starwood card qualifies for the reduced $30 fee on the Delta sky miles card?

Anyway, I'm already pocketing the 10K Delta bonus and the 15K United bonus (and hoping I don't have to pay any annual fees for either, but I'll go ahead and pay the $30 fee for the Delta card if I have to because I would like to use it for gas and groceries and get the double miles).

This site and the "More Room Throughout Coach" one have been very helpful, mainly because I used to travel for business in Detroit fairly often but I won't be doing much flying in the next year or so - new baby on the way - maybe 2 or 3 business trips to the East Coast in 2003 and that's pretty much it. So I figure my best option for earning miles over the next yaer or so is to earn miles on the credit card(s). Plus, I've got about 30,000 Marriott Rewards points I can use for hotel stays or air miles.