Airline Miles

• Airlines such as American, Delta, Southwest and Continental have their own credit cards, and many offer enough bonus points for a free trip initially. Buying tickets from these airlines or their partner hotels, rental car companies and other partners usually yields two points per dollar. Capital One Venture earns two points per dollar on all purchases as of March 2011 and gives a 10,000-point signup bonus. Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 25,000 bonus points if you spend $3,000 in the first three months but also has a very high default rate of 29.99 percent.
  
  

Other Travel Rewards

• Most of the airline cards also let you redeem points for hotels, merchandise and gift cards. Delta's SkyMiles card only lets you redeem airfare points according to the website Top Ten Review. Chase Sapphire, Capital One Orbitz Visa and Miles by Discover give bonus points for airfare, hotel and other travel bookings. CitiDiamond Preferred and American Express Gold give bonus points for groceries and gas.
  
  

Auto Rewards

• For someone who drives a lot and travels by car, an auto rewards card might be the best bet. Discover's Open Road card gives 2 percent cash back for money spent at any gas station and any restaurant. It gives a 5 to 20 percent cash back bonus on purchases from the company's online mall and up to 1 percent on all other purchases. The True Earnings card from Costco and American Express, though, offers 3 percent cash back on gasoline purchases up to $3,000 per year. It also offers 3 percent for restaurants, 2 percent for travel and 1 percent for nearly everything else.
  
  

Cash Back

• Cash back is the least restricted form of credit card rewards. You receive rewards for everything you spend and can spend rewards however you like. Capital One No Hassle Rewards card offers 2 percent cash back on gas and groceries and 1 percent back on everything else. Chase Freedom Visa is more restricted in that it offers 5 percent cash back on items that change quarterly, including gas, home improvement and department stores, but depends on enrollment and quarterly minimum spending.