Excellent post, thanks so much for sharing. I love using credit cards to get rewards. Usually to maximize my benefit, I always make sure to pay off my credit cards in full to avoid interest rate charges which can be rather large.
I also use these reward programs to assist in travel hacking. A lot of cards either the airline ones or ones meant specifically for travelers give very large mileage bonuses either initially or after charging a certain amount on the card. If you can charge enough to meet their requirements and open several cards, you can rack enormous travel benefits.