Somewhere near the #8 or #9 slots would be: Programs like WorldPerks that exclude CyberSavers or Cash & Miles tickets from mileage earning, and companies like Budget that think 50 measly miles is too much to award for a reservation at a "discount" Website rate. Northwest's case is especially bad because you could pay $200-250 for a domestic ticket or $400-570 for an international and not get a single mile from it. That ruins the deal.

The transparency issue is one that should be pressed, though. Continental, for one, seems to realize it has a potential PR problem and has been doing annual newsletter stories about how the total award redemptions went up this year from last, etc. But they just give one aggregate number, not even differentiating between upgrades and free trips. And we don't know how fast the unredeemed miles are growing, but I'll bet it's at a far faster rate.