the trick i discovered is to sign up for a 3 month sub, let it "expire" (usually it will continue for 3 months more)... as soon as the paper stops delivery (6 months total), sign up again. works like a charm...

i would rather pay for the "free" 3 months, but there is no easy way to do it using miles. once i renewed after the 3 months, but kept getting the renewal notices anyway (and the miles got deducted too!!!).