Pack up your troubles with miles, miles, miles

As the variety of ways to accrue frequent-flyer miles rapidly multiplies, it's becoming increasingly important to know how to get the most bang for your bargain.

In the beginning, frequent-flyer deals were offered primarily by the airlines and the deals were fairly basic: Fly a certain distance and you receive a certain number of miles that can be exchanged for free flights. Today, you don't even have to board a plane and take a flight in order to earn travel awards