Hello everyone,
I've tried looking over the forums to answer my questions but there is so much information its hard to find info specific to me. If my situtation looks familiar and you can point me to a thread that is similar, please do!

First I'll try to list information yall may need:
I currently do not fly often, perhaps once a year, all within the US. In the future I'd like to fly more often and maybe venture outside of the US some.

I currently fly out of Dallas,TX. *Edit* Airline and Cabin do not matter, I usually try to find the cheapest.

*Edit* I'll spend around $35k a year.

Ok, so my situation is pretty simple. I've recently discovered the benefits of rewards on credit cards and decided it would be a great thing to get into to allow me to travel more often. I'm looking for a card that gives me the most points or miles just for using it. I have discovered the following cards may work for me and would like some input or other suggestions.

Mariot rewards Visa[/URL]. 70k points for spending $1k in the first 3 months. 1 point per dollar.
https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/sapphire-preferred-card.aspx?freedomsplit=3&CELL=682H&sapphireprefspl it=2

American Express Premier rewards gold card. 25k points for spending $2k in the first 3 months. 1 point per dollar. 2X points for gas and groceries.
https://www304.americanexpress.com/c...-PRG-LearnMore

I'm leaning towards the Chase card but I'm not sure if im just being taken in by their marketing or it really is the best card for me. Also, I'm sure I could be missing another card I could benefit from.

If I need to provide more info, I'll be happy to.
Thank you VERY much for your time.

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

You will receive better replies if you mention:

1. The airline you use most frequently
2. The cabin in which you would like to fly when redeeming miles (economy vs premium)
3. The amount you can spend annually on credit cards

Don't be distracted by the number of points, devise a plan for how you will use them and focus on your goal.

Do you have relatively little/"young" credit?
If so I'd recommend the Amex because in the future all Amex cards you apply for will have an opening date of your very first Amex card. Although it may not be the best card for you right now I believe it'll be the best card for you over time (assuming you currently have almost no cards) just my $.02

You might want to try plugging your category-specific spending profile into the credit card rewards calculator at creditcardtuneup.com. That can be helpful for comparing the dollar value of the rewards you can earn from various cards, although, to some extent, the value of points/miles depends on how you'll use them.

The calculator also looks for good combinations of cards for your spending pattern.

Great info, right here. DFW is an American Airlines hub, so I would definitely take advantage of the Citi AAdvantage cards. They have personal and business cards that you can apply for.

Also, DAL is a good Southwest hub. Chase has lots of cards that you can take advantage of.

You mentioned the Chase Sapphire Preferred - that would be good, as you can transfer your points directly to Southwest.

There are also a few Southwest Rapid Rewards cards from Chase, each with a 50k mile sign-up bonus and $2k/3mo spending requirement. If you get 2 of those (either the two different personal cards or one personal and one business) then you'll be at 104k points. Another 6k points within the CALENDAR YEAR, and you'll have a companion pass valid for one person to travel with you unlimited number of times for the rest of the current year plus the entire next year. $6k should be easy to get with a little Manufactured Spending.

So, I would say AA would be a great choice for international, and SW would be great for domestic travel, especially if you're flying with someone else.

Thank you for the info. After looking at the 2 i believe AA looks like the better choice for me so far since I'd really like the option for international.

There's no reason not to do both, once you get your feet wet, and you might as well throw in UA at some point. There is decent availability on the LH DFW-FRA flight that you can use to get to virtually anywhere since you can route through Europe to Asia or Africa. And AS (I'll stop here and try to limit the info overload).

All 4 programs offer one-way redemptions and the one thing you will likely find if you do some searches is that it is often better to use one airline/alliance for one way and another for the other.

I would not apply for an AMEX Gold with less than 50K points. Watch your email, mailbox, cardmatch.com and these forums. For N. American nonstop flights on AA, BA will usually require less points, have no close-in booking fees and have more favorable cancellation policies. You can transfer both AMEX MR and Chase UR to BA.

I think the AA card, WN card, CSP or SPG Amex would be my suggestion.

AA: if you fly AA this card will help as it gives you a free checked bag, 25% off inflight purchases, and 10% rebate on miles redeemed (up to 10k/yr). Also, a very nice sign up bonus. Plus, Citi seems to be very open to waiving annual fees if you're a decent customer.

WN: if you fly WN (and you may more after DAL opens up to long flights), the WN card is great because RR points are worh consistently 1.6% and you'll likely enjoy the free bags and no change fees of WN. Plus you'll get some free drink coupons and a point bonus every year after your fee hits.

CSP: this is a very popular card because of its earning power and flexibility to transfer to WN, UA, BA, and more or redeem for travel at 1.2% The other cool thing is you can also get a freedom card and combine points from its 5% categories to get very high values.

Amex SPG: this card has the most transfer partners of any credit card because the points are earned in Starwoods program not amex. You get a bonus for transferring as well. I personally find very good redemptions for Starwood hotels and am loyal to amex as I've been a customer for 10 years (first card ever was an amex) and their focus is very pro cardholder when it comes to disputes and other problems.

Thanks everyone for all of the great information. You have helped me narrow down the best options for me and I really appreciate it. I'm leaning towards the AAdvantage and Southwest RR cards but will look more into the others that were mentioned.
Thanks again!