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It's tough to earn 1,000 US Airways miles on a short rental. And don't most car-rental companies charge an excise-tax recovery fee when you credit miles to a domestic carrier?

Welcome to FT.

Not sure what hotels you mostly stay in, but, when you check out the Marriott threads here on FT make sure to look at the travel packages they have. It's some of the best deals around for redeeming and air and hotel.

Another idea, if you are not interested in churning CC's, then you could think about a few different ones that are offering a good sign up bonus that are keepers and utilize those to earn points/miles as well.

Choosing 1 hotel chain or 2 (if your travel will support) to frequent seems to work for many. I am not certain how hotels.com could be the best program out there (I could be wrong, just doesn't seem to be advantageous to road warriors).

But, you definitely need to decide what your goals are and if you don't have any current plans, think about what you may like to do and work toward that goal.

For Amex Plat, there are two benefits that can make it worthwhile. The first is lounge access for US/DL/AA when you're on their flights. I've use the AA AAdmirals club via my Amex Plat many times and find it well worth it just for that. ANd on the one DL flight I've taken in the past 2 years I used it for Sky Club access as well. I also like the Priorty Pass Select membership so that I can access the Alaska lounge here in Seattle on early morning flights (great pancake machine there). I've yet to use the Priority Pass for INTL lounges but I'm sure it will be good for those were AA (My primary airline) doesn't have good lounges. I know in the past year I've left a OneWorld lounds to go to a Priority Pass Select lounge, sorry that i can't recall exactly where it was that I did that (I think Budapest, but could be wrong).

The Amex Plat fee (USA) is $450. It is worth it the first year because you get the $200 fee credit twice (once before January 1 and once after) and a signup bonus. After the first year, it's probably only worthwhile if you use some of the other features. It is not a great card for earning points, as it is a flat 1 point per dollar. You might consider switching to the Preferred Rewards Gold, with a lower fee ($175) and 3x points on airfare, 2x on gas and groceries, and 15K bonus for spending $30K in a year. Be sure to open the PRG account before cancelling the Plat so that you don't lose your points.

I don't know about the hotels.com rewards program, but you can save serious money booking hotels on Priceline. However, if your employer is paying for your hotels, that will help them but not you.