I'm 100% self-paid leisure and can't bring myself to do pure mileage runs ('cept maybe at crunch time in December).

I'm still on-pace to maintain gold-level, but the field of acceptable trips for doing that has been cut WAY down. I have to do a lot more research and fare-shopping overhead per trip taken, and am finding even some good-sounding sales have hardly any seats!

Some of the old standbys aren't working. Dead-of-winter Europe is $500s a-i rather than $300s. Hawaii sales are non-existant, and west coast ones on NW from ATL are rare. Sometimes they'll lob a bomb at US for something out of CLT or will have to match WN out of BHM, so I'm having to fly from alternate airports more. BHM-PDX around $200 a-i has already gotten a couple of trips.

The new award surcharges, especially $100 for an Asia award, certainly don't help motivation. Airlines will try to hold onto these fees even if fuel goes down!

Then there's Spirit, on which I've done 5 short trips so far this year to MCO or FLL at fares ranging from $21 RT all-in to an outrageous $83 RT a-i. I do get 50% EQMs but the miles are basically worthless; it's the next-to-nothing fares that are the draw (all so that I can spend well in excess of the fare on $4/gallon gas once there!). Spirit has cut back to only FLL from ATL now, though.

The new order to things may be opportunistic short trips on an airline like Spirit, and long trips on someone where I collect miles at 1:1 for a free trip maybe 1 time in 5.

In other words, price is king and no more mileage-motivated leisure trips.