You don't need 30 cards
The best card is the one that matches the life you're in.
The internet will tell you the opposite.
Open a new card for the bonus. Park it in a sock drawer. Open another one before a trip. Product-change this, churn that, keep a spreadsheet of annual fees so nothing sneaks up on you in July. There is a version of this game that works if the game is the point.
For most people the game is the problem.
You do not need 30 cards. You need the card that matches how you actually spend and how you actually travel. A family of four flying to see grandparents twice a year is not the same problem as a couple booking one anniversary trip, and neither is the same as someone who flies for work and pays their own way.
The test
Before you apply for anything, ask three questions.
What do I already spend money on every month, whether I travel or not?
How often do I actually get on a plane, and who is sitting next to me?
Am I willing to remember another login, another due date, and another annual fee?
If the honest answers are "groceries and gas," "once or twice," and "not really," you are a one-card or two-card household. That is not a failure of optimization. That is a household.
The "best" card is the one you will use, pay off, and still understand in six months. A 100,000-point bonus you forget to redeem is not a win. A $95 annual fee on a card you never take out of the app is not a flex.
What we will do here instead
When I recommend a card, I will say who it is for. Families. Couples. People just getting started. People who already have a card they like and should leave it alone.
I will also say when the move is to skip the new card and book the trip with cash, or with the points you already have. Sitting out a signup bonus is sometimes the smartest thing you can do.
Points and miles are a tool. The trip is the point. If a strategy needs a binder, a second email address, and a warning about 5/24, it belongs on a different blog.
Next time you see a list of the 17 cards you "need" this year, you can close the tab. We will pick one, maybe two, and go take the trip.