nonnafelice

They won't transfer your miles, but Capital One Go Miles is my choice for a points card. It doesn't tie you to any specific airline. You can even use the discount airlines like Jet Blue. And Cap One is a good credit card to use when traveling abroad, because they don't charge any extra currency conversion fee (unlike many other companies which tack on an extra 2 or 3 % to the 1% VISA fee). $19 per year for the basic card.

Cole

If you are disciplined about paying in full each month there are a lot of ways to charge that you wouldnt think of. I have several recurring bills (cable TV, Utilities, Gym, etc) that autobill to my mileage credit card. I get miles this way as well as for everyday stuff like groceries and gas for the car, anyplace that accepts them. The miles add up fast as I just returned from Europe on a free ticket with American. I have another ticket waiting to be used on United and Alaska. Another fast way I was earning miles is changing from one long distance carrier to another. They used to give 10,000 a pop for this between AT&T and MCI. I think they got wise because I havent had an offer for a while. For the United one I got an instant 15,000 miles for getting the card that put me over the top for another trip to Europe.