For newbies,

Read as much and as many of the flyertalk forums as you can. Don't forget to go to work, sleep, and clean your house, however. It can be addictive.

Then go here

http://www.webflyer.com/

and click all over the left hand side of the page. Start with Program Questions.

Finally, check out how stuff works here

http://money.howstuffworks.com/ff-programs.htm

Good luck.