Ok.... please be careful -to any on this thread just diving in...... be really careful. The churning game can be fun,and almost addictive- but it's really important to have specific goals in mind,otherwise you may find yourself spending money to be in the game that you don't have, or getting points you have no use for. The general rule of thumb (from diehards of the game) is the goal... there ARE a lot of great offers, but are all of them great for everyone? No. Just accumulating points b/c you can -the game changes constantly. That's the one constant. So what points can do for you right now (with a specific travel goal) they may not do in 6 months,or less,etc.
Also,getting all the bonuses is great, but it's not free,it costs in both time and money to get to certain levels of spending. Now if you get another card for the bonus, knowing you don't have the $ for the spend, you now have to learn how to MS (it's not a simple game) So that's a whole other level you're getting into. *and* it goes without saying that paying finance charges b/c you charged more than you can pay off in a month is not a good idea either.
Also if you have no travel plans, and don't plan to travel for quite a while, accumulating tons of points in various programs may not be the best idea,since,as noted before things change ALL the time. That coupled with keeping an organized record of cards,points,expiration dates,transfer options,etc is a part time job (at least!) so travel bonuses are ONLY valuable and useful if you have/can make plans to use them. I'm just tossing this out there b/c this thread is so very pleasnt and helpful....( I appreciate reading it daily) but once you really start 'getting into' doing this a bit.... on other boards you will definitely hear all of what I've noted (but mostly in not very nice words lol)
I'm not trying to discourage anyone here, but it isn't a 'no stakes' game it involves extra time, money,and commitment to doing it.
I've made plenty of 'oops' myself over the years I've been doing this sort of thing,so not on a high horse,just sayin'.....