The secret to getting a lot of hot deals is that you've got to have good credit. How did I get good credit? Well for one thing, I never had bad credit! Ha ha, that seems like a no brainer. But, really.

I got my first credit card when I was 19. It was a store card for Maurices. It only had a $200 limit, but it was a start. I'd buy clothes every now and then, and then (and here is the crucial part) PAY THE BALANCE OFF IN FULL EVERY MONTH. I got other, real credit cards with higher limits throughout the years. But that is always the number one rule. I repeat, ALWAYS PAY THE BALANCE OFF IN FULL EVERY MONTH.

I buy everything with my credit card. My main card is currently a Choice Privileges Visa, which I earn 2 points on every dollar towards hotel rewards. When I signed up for it a year ago, I got 24000 bonus points. You can get hotel stays for varying number of points, with 6000 being the cheapest. So for every $3000 you spend, you have a potential hotel stay. I spend $800-$1000 a month on my credit card. So that's potentially 4 free stays a year. I stayed at the Cloister at Sea Island for New Year's Eve for 20000 of my points (rooms START at $500 a night, and you have a personal freaking butler!) Pretty posh. I want to do it this year if possible, so that's why I stockpile points on this card.

Over the years, I have had an Amazon Visa, Disney Visa, several cards within the Thank You network, etc. I have earned $25 in free Amazon credit, $25 in Disney credit, a $100 gift card to Target, a $100 gift card to Staples, and of course the above mentioned hotel bonus. This is just for SIGNING up for the card. You can (and I did) earn even more bonuses by using the card. But of course, you can only spend so much a month, so I recommend picking the one with the best benefits to you and using that as your only card.

You can keep the other cards open. It's a myth that having lots of credit cards hurts your credit. It only does if you have balances sitting on these cards. Actually, the more cards in good standing that you have, the greater your total credit limit (mine is over $100000) which is a positive factor when you're applying for a loan, or other credit cards.

I space my credit card applications at least a couple of months apart. I also apply for cards in my husband's name (no, he doesn't mind!), since we have joint accounts. We both have very good credit scores because of using credit frequently, yet always paying on time and in full. Always!

Slickdeals.net is a great place to hear about these bonus offers, but you'll also see them in your junk mail or in the Sunday coupons. As long as there is no annual fee, then it doesn't matter what the interest rate is, since you're not going to carry a balance. You just apply for it, make one purchase, pay that off when the bill comes, and cash in your rewards. Clean and simple.

Too many people use credit cards as some kind of gift card, or loan. It's not. It's just another account. You shouldn't spend money you don't have.

If you don't have the willpower or self control to use credit wisely, then you probably shouldn't do the bonus offer thing, but it can be extremely rewarding if you do!