I can't say I agree they are useless.

The answer of course is - it depends. If you want to fly and haven't got enough, perhaps you should earn some more, just like you would if you didn't have enough airline miles for an award.

I may sound a little smug. If so, it's only because I have enough Air Miles to go to Switzerland (where folks live) every year for the next 32 years, or twice a year for the next 16 years ... or once a week for the next 32 weeks.

And on that route they are cheaper than BA (1,000 Air Miles = approx 10,000 BA Miles; BA charge 12,000 BA Miles).