quinella66, I agree with you:

I would not trust airlines to "be my bank". I spend miles when I have the chance to get a reasonable value for them but I would not "take a run at the miles bank" to burn as fast as possible. I will save them for a good use. .... Even if I lost all of my miles that I have now, I still have made enough return on what I have redeemed that they were worth it.

I will no longer write the word 'burn' for using miles. Like you, I am prudently 'using' my well over half-million miles on various airlines (supplemented when needed with even more DC, AmEx and hotel credits) to fly both business and pleasure trips.

FF miles are not the travel equivalent of a 401(k) for the AARP eligile. I qualify but am using them NOW.

[This message has been edited by kappa (edited 08-04-2003).]