It's only free if you have the Xbox Live Gold membership, so technically it isn't free at all.
So tired of hearing this.

If you already have gold and they give you something else it's free.
If I bought a set of tires and the dealer sends me a coupon for a free oil change 6 months later because I bought the tires then the oil change is free.
See how that works?
It's a perk for having a gold account.
So tired of hearing people complain over a lousy $50.00 a year.
If you look around it can be much cheaper than that and 13 months to boot.
Amazon and others often run 13 month cards for $38.00 - $42.00