I just became a flyertalker ... but am disoriented. I saw the article in the CN Travel magazine and realized that there is much to be learned if I want to travel more ... which I do (thanks to a cancer diagnosis I've freed up time in my schedule).
I collected ~ 900000 miles on AA but then used them all for vacations ... great vacations ... and when I just tried to fly for free to Kauai in 2 weeks I realized I don't have enough miles ... no more. So I am determined to learn how to maximize my mileage bank but ... I do not fly for work so I can't easily collect miles through flights; in fact, the largest source of my miles is my Citi/AAdvantage card.
I did sign up for dining awards but that'll take a while. I just looked at the offer to buy miles: AA $1000 for 45K miles ... doesn't sound like a good offer. I could probably get a flight cheaper than that ...
So because I am not independently wealthy but really want to travel more, I need to know: where do I learn the basics about how to collect miles fast.

My main goal is personal travel ... while business or 1st class would be nice, I'd be happy to just have enough miles to travel frequently.