When it comes to domestic airline frequent flyer programs, it’s hard to argue with the value presented by United’s MileagePlus program.

I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter and follow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account. I tweet from @MileValueAlerts only a few times a month because it is designed to be used only for the best and most limited-time deals–like mistake fares–so that you aren’t bombarded by text messages.

Ryanair is offering dirt cheap one way fares starting at just £9 / €9 (under $13 USD) between various European cities. The majority of available travel dates are in October and November of this year.

Ryanair, the largest low cost carrier in Europe, is a machine. It serves over 100 million customers annually and was the original model for a multitude of other budget airline. In the past, that machine has been known for vigorously strict policies as a means of cutting costs...all in the name of providing a cheaper plane ticket, of course.

I'd heard horror stories of being charged oodles of money because you did one thing slightly wrong, or because your bag was the tiniest bit overweight or oversized, totally negating any value of the cheap ticket.

Taking no-frills, short distance flights on low cost carriers is a great way to fill in the hole on an open jaw award and to hop around Europe if you're traveling light.

You often cannot redeem traditional miles on these kinds of flights--or if you can it just wouldn't be worth it because the value you'd be getting per mile would be so low.