Between snoozy aircraft controllers, post-9/11 security measures, and the high cost of fuel air travel has gotten suckier at almost (but not quite) the same rate as it's gotten more expensive. You'd think that taking away all the meals and legroom and free baggage check-ins would save enough money that you wouldn't have to worry about the plane cracking in half mid-flight, but the recent Southworst debacle peeled back the curtain on just how janky the industry can be. This piece from yesterday's NYT outlines the problem of aging airplanes, with alarming phrases like "structural cracks from metal fatigue remain a persistent problem on older planes"; "the discovery of some of the most serious damage had been 'a purely random occurrence.'"; and "The potential for catastrophic structural failure is very significant." Still, we want to see the world, so we save our pennies and subject ourselves to all of it. One silver lining is that airlines are starting to motivate to replace older planes with bigger and more fuel efficient models, though it may well be naive to think the increased affordability will be passed down to us average schmucks. The steady increases over the past few years have gotten me much more interested in sites like Airfare Watchdog and I'm considering ditching my current credit card for one with better airline rewards. Which brings me to you, Blogtown readers: Can anyone recommend a credit card that has easy to track/understand/redeem airline rewards? I've heard mixed things about Alaska's, even though they're my favorite domestic carrier. And signing up for mileage programs even if you skip around on various airlines: worth the hassle? Any other programs, web sites, or techniques to game the system for maximum travels at minimum cost?