FF miles (augmented by transferred Rewards points) and expeditious use of hotel points have taken my wife and I to Europe 3 times and Asia once, all in BizClass. For me, the AMEX and the other CC I use are no more than artificial debit cards, as I transfer funds to beat any interest charges, and the AMEX fee is part of the cost of doing business, worth it or not in your eyes. Often, I'd rather stay in a few more quaint "non-branded" hotels abroad, but the allure of using points in the big cities is hard to beat, especially when one looks at European hotel rates.

Yes. I "pay" for FF miles and hotel points, but my cost are no greater than the costs borne by folks who neither acquire many or work at "shopping smart".

No, BizClass awards are not always easy to "game" the system to acquire, but amazingly, we've never had to sweat blood or settle for something less than planned or intended. Over the years, we've used FF miles for "special" domestic occasions, once even a club membership for a daughter doing her road warrior novitiate, and we've an awards economy flight to the East Coast in October.

There's no free lunch, but the nature of my business has made it possible for me to benefit from loyalty programs at what I perceive to be no "added" costs.