I am beginning to realize I am missing the boat on this "churnng" thing, but al so nervous and uncertain about it...i really need an expert opinion.
my deal: I am a diamond hilton and silver us air the old fashioned way--traveling for work--hubby and I just moved to charlotte and both jumped on the us air barclay deal--we LOVE it as we get priority boarding, etc and pretty much our goal is to fly only us air (or the new american) because the prices are so great here....
I have had a hilton visa and amex for several years that i could easily cancel:
my goal honestly:
perhaps status at another chain (marriot is a big one for my company), i can easily earn diamond status at hilton on my own.
Should I drop the hilton visa and amex which are rarely used and get another card??? Is there a general card that makes it more advanatageous in general to charge everything but my flights? (I love using the us air card to book us air flights because of priority boarding, etc)
I really so appreciate your suggestions. Im not terribly comfortable with crdit cards and having a zillion but am definitley missing some opportunities I think.....
thanks!!

also..how long after you cancel a card does it clear off your credit score? if they beg you to stay with ano annual fee is it worth it??

Welcome to the amazing forums!! I am also newbie here, reading and learning but there is so much to learn...slowly getting there. I am sure experts will chime in soon.

Good prices in a fortress hub? OMG. Well, ok...

Go to www.creditkarma.com and check your FAKO score. ("FAKO" is a .......ization of the FICO score, the actual industry standard, FAKO means it's kinda fake but not entirely fake.) I wouldn't worry about having too many accounts or "hard pulls" or whatnot. If you have a fair number of accounts, keep your balances very low, and pay your bills on time, you'll stay in the high 700's and that's fine.

I personally just get a lot of cards, get the bonus, then cancel them unless they seem worthwhile to keep long-term. It's good for your credit score to get and keep at least one Amex open because they report your age of account as being when you got your first Amex.

Grab a couple of Citi AA cards (see the "two-browser trick" and make sure you get the 50K signup bonus) each before that goes away and before the merger.

Make sure you have the right US MC, the one that gives 10K bonus points with each annual renewal - that makes it worth the $89 annual fee.

Mostly hotel cards aren't that great if you get one point per dollar, because a hotel point usually isn't worth as much as an airline point, the scales are just different.

Yes, the big rewards are in having lots of credit cards, getting them for the bonuses, then cancelling them within a year. I've gotten close to a million points that way in the past couple of years. Most of the cards sit in my drawer and never get used. Simply, that's how it's done.

Newbies like me need to read your post, redtop. This post basically tells everything a newbie about how to reach that million miles magic number.

DO NOT do the 2 browser trick to try and get 2 AA Citi Platinum cards, they will only approve one and you wasted one of your limited Citi apps. If you really want AA miles get the Platinum and the Gold, but you don't need to do these at the exact same time, just close together (right after each other) to combine the pull on your credit report.

Regarding the AMEX and keeping accounts open, does a corporate card count or just personal? Thanks.

thanks for your reply. and yes, Im very happy with the fares i get at US air from CLT--could it be because I just moved here where i suffered with CVG for the last several years
seriously, i appreciate your input.
I am concerned about screwing up my credit, which is why i asked if its best to cancel cards that are not being used...