re: Credit Card Question

If by Barclays and Capital One you mean Barclays World Arrival (with fee) vs. Captial One Venture, Barclays hands down IMO is better. Bigger bonus, better rate (2.2 per dollar vs. 2X points), and partial point redemption that Cap One doesn't allow make up for the fee being $30 more a year.

Now, if you're looking for a flexible points system to fly wherever at whatever price ie you want to fly international/international business/first class, Chase Freedom/Sapphire Preferred/Ink Plus/Ink Bold are great. Chase Ultimate Reward points are extremely flexible.

However, if you are a domestic flyer just looking for the cheapest fares, then there is something to be said for the Barclays card over the Chase cards as your every day card. But, with all that said, you shouldn't pass up the huge bonus points the Chase cards give out. You can always apply, earn the bonus, burn the points and cancel if you wish.

Another good domestic card when it hits the 50,000 bonus offer is the Chase Southwest card. Wait for the 50k point offer before applying.

My experience with the Amex offerings is limited, so hopefully Bacon comes in here or someone else comes in here (there are some other threads that discuss them, maybe even earlier in this thread, but I'm busy packing for Christmas trip). I have the Amex Starwood Preferred Guest card, which racks up Starpoints for Starwood hotels but also has over 25 airline partners as well, so that is another route for point diversification.