By popular demand, I've started an email list. You can sign up on the right side bar. Hopefully soon, I'll start a daily email of the posts to those on the email list. And I'll use the list in case of a breaking mistake fare! Sign up right now.

The winner of the random drawing for the free United Club pass was Ridiculous Nicholas, and I've emailed him. I'm sure most of you are hoping he doesn't respond, so you can get another crack at it.

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the third post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

The main source of frequent-flier miles is credit card sign up bonuses.

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the second post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete.

I'll get to the free United Club Pass in a minute, but first, to the readers of Million Mile Secrets, welcome to milevalue.com. This blog is a must read for anyone interested in frequent flier miles and travel:

1) Beginners- Welcome to the miles game. You may never have to pay for a flight again. And if you want to fly for free in seven-foot beds at the front of the plane to exotic destinations, you can do that too! You'll want to start with my Free First Class Next Month series that started today just below this post.

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the first post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete.

All deals in this post have expired.

Southwest is having a three-day deal giving triple points on purchases at five retailers. The deal expires 3/31/2012.To access the deal, simply go to rapidrewardsshopping.southwest.com. The deal is open to all without any special codes, just search for the applicable retailer, and click the Shop Now button.

What's the deal worth? I'll be basing this on my analysis of the value of a Southwest Rapid Rewards point. Since it's a fixed-value program, your value should be the same.

Do you subscribe to the Top 20 from Travelzoo? I recommend it because each week there are a few truly incredible deals. Let's take a look at a few from this week.

1) Fly nonstop from LAX-Puerto Vallarta for $313 r/t or Cabo for $333 r/t. Flights from SFO are slightly more. I have no doubt this is a good cash price, and the page says these prices are $200 off the normal price.  But for me, this deal just highlights how valuable Avios are.

Below is a list of all possible North American international gateway cities when using American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Why are these important? As we'll learn in my series on the value of AAdvantage miles, when traveling on an AAdvantage award from North America to any other region, a free stopover is allowed at the North American gateway city.

I am excited to announce a new feature: the milevalue.com Mile Value Leaderboard. Find it at the top of the page. On it, I'll keep track of my latest valuations for every major frequent flier, credit card, and hotel loyalty currency. So far, it just has three entries: Avios, Rapid Rewards, and Membership Rewards. Avios and Rapid Rewards were dissected in the last week.

Full Membership Rewards analysis is coming soon. But I've added it to the list because right now there is a 50% transfer bonus if you transfer Membership Rewards points to Avios.

Update April 1, 2014: This post was written before Southwest's massive devaluation. Now you need 70 points per dollar for Wanna Get Away? fares instead of 60. Now Rapid Rewards are worth about 1.45 cents each.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.69 cents per point. Unlike my calculation of the value of an Avios, the valuation of a Rapid Rewards point does not change based on where you live or your flying preferences because Rapid Rewards is a fixed-value award program.