Hi everyone!

I am fairly new to this game and besides for about 90k in United miles have nothing else in my name.

I am based out of NYC and am originally from Austria (Vienna) and also find myself flying to Israel at least once a year. That being said Id like to have at least 1 solid trip a year to somewhere cool in the world (South America, Australia, Asia, Africa >> I am very open). Id like to really be able to fly nicely and stay in nice hotels for that 1 trip a year or so.

I just became a home owner so I waited for all this until after my loan went through and from what I hear / read there is an option of "bluebirding" my mortgage into points as well.

I am here to learn and find out what the best ways / cards / rewards system is to get me that ongoing vacation I could really need.

[I have a family but assume what ever advise I get from you guys applies to my wife as well]

Take a look around this forum, as there's a good amount of information on various frequent flyer programs and credit cards.

A few questions come to mind:
How often do you travel? Do you care if you fly out of LGA, JFK, EWR? Do you fly often enough to earn preferred status on any airline? Do you prefer any of the alliances?

What are your goals? What matters to you in 'the game'? Miles? Hotel stays? Cashback? Are you ok paying for miles to be redeemed in the future? Do you want to rack up AA or UA miles? Do you have a business? Are you ok buying miles at cheap rates (via 'manufactured spending')?

Well - I make several smaller trips to florida a year (usually jetblue), one to Israel and am looking for one real sweet 10-14 day vacation in some "interesting " place a year.

That one big trip is really the one I want to focus on (and maybe Israel) for my points and a hotel to go with it hopefully.

I leave close to JFK so that would be preferred but I would obviously be willing to use any of the 3 if need be. I prob dont travel enough to get me preferred status if it is based on miles flown. If cards themselves or points earned with them can get me the status it might be possible.

My goal is the nice, "close to free" trip with hotel vacation a year as a start and see how that goes. I obv wouldnt stop accumulating if I had enough for the trip itself as its always good to have points etc.

I would be eligible to have a business (actually my wife , not me). Depending how cheap the miles are Id maybe consider buying but I really dont know much about it and if I can get what I need via CC Bonuses and earning points with my spending that would prob be preferred.

Got it. What are your common buckets of spending? Travel, restaurants, gas, groceries? That will also help advise.

For starters, I'd recommend you look into the following programs:
Chase Ultimate Rewards - redeemable for United
American Express Membership Rewards - redeemable for British Airways (AA) and El Al

Chase has several cards with big sign-up bonuses: Chase Sapphire Preferred (2 points per $ on travel and restaurants), Chase Ink Plus/Bold (office supplies).

Amex MR has several cards as well.

You may want to either focus on one program (Chase UR) or diversify. Look around the forum for ideas.

The best deal for Israel is on United, using ANA miles transferred from SPG or AMEX MR. Blog post http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/28060

Everyone can get business cards. Just don't make anything up on the application. (0 years in business and 0 business income, with a good credit score and personal income, is fine)

Yes - common would be groceries, restaurants, hopefully for the mtge and some other expenses.

I definitely dont mind diversifying but am really just looking to get the most out of it. If that means getting many diff programs or focusing on one I am open to either. Am here to feel out what the community thinks overall the best programs and perks are to go with.

What's the best way of booking this flight? I can't find it on ANA.

Good point. I was able to find a couple of dates in April and May, but this is probably hard to find.

I'm 0 for 4 on booking trips with points to Israel. I think you need to plan well ahead or be very flexible.

Israel is hard to find availability for.. my friends usually fly somewhere fairly close and then just pay for a hopper flight.

Which airports give you the best hopper flight rates? Thanks.

Cairo is cheap now but obviously has some stability issues.