I just added two years to my Economist subscription (now paid through Sept 2011) using my wife's orphaned Northwest miles. That option is probably still available.
AGS
Yes, but I'm still trying to find out how/where with different air miles. (I haven't flown NW in donkey years and doubt there are any miles in an account with them, though maybe I should inquire.)
As I've said, I have gotten and will again the WSJ using UA miles going through the UA website. I don't remember how/where I started my expiring subscription to Forbes, but vaguely recall that I picked Forbes from a list of magazine options, only a few of any interest. I think that there are more opportunities to burn air miles for subscriptions, and sometimes get a very good cpm for disposing of them that way. (The WSJ at 1200 UA for 13 weeks is a great deal, at least until the WSJ is free online to all. Even then, I would still prefer to hold the paper in my hands as I read it.)
So, can others here point me to where to look for magazines for miles deals. Websites? (Maybe I'll try Googling to see what that brings up. I was hoping, though, that others would have knowledge based on their personal experiences. I'd rather not have the aggravation of using the miles and never seeing the subscriptions.)