Been lurking and posting infrequently. Started last year with the SW Premier Visa 50K, along with 1 Citi 75K for myself. My wife got the SW Premier at the beginning of this year - 50K and just got approved for the SW Plus offer - 50K. She'll be $1K short of companion pass once the plus spend has been completed.

So far this year I've applied for the Delta Amex Gold 40K and just now applied for the Chase Hyatt - Instant Approval.

Currently i've got 75k RR points and 45K Delta miles and 13K AA miles, Wife has 74K RR points.

I want to start building towards free hotel stays, hence the Chase Hyatt for the 2 free nights. Was thinking the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards next so that I can transfer to Hyatt Points and then in a couple months have the wife apply for the Hyatt card as well.

Any other cards that I should look out for? Consider?

We spend about $4K a month on our CC so really don't have an issue with the minimum spends.

The SPG card really is great for hotel. The cash and points for a lot of properties are an incredible deal.

Not sure if the links are all still valid, but FTG had a plan to get 310,000 Hilton points:
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2012/...th-hilton.html

If you are just starting out I'd say to follow your instincts and get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa. The UR points are very valuable. Getting 50K points and having the ability to xfer those points to Hyatt (instantly) is quite the perk. I've stayed at very nice Hyatts for only 5000 points.

Chase Marriott offers 70k bonus + 1 free night, with no spending requirement.