Originally Posted by
Stranger
You collect more or less useless point. But they try the best they can for you not to figure it out. Until you try booking, obviously.
Not at all. Just like with real money, you need to be smart and explore or you'll miss out on the best values around.
1) Try booking with a Star Alliance carrier like UA through a U.S. city. You can likely save 50% of those fees.
2) For MUCH better value, collect another 20,000 miles and book a business class ticket for only a bit more tax - but thousands of $ more in value.