For the typical traveler I agree with you, but I personally hardly ever fly transcontinental. I do, however, fly short-haul flights within California and its neighboring states (LAX-SFO, SFO-LAS, LAX-LAS, LAX-PHX, etc.), and when you do those on a fairly frequent basis, it adds up. For me, the free flights within California is of huge benefit, but again, that's just for me, most people probably don't do those trips that often.

But yes, the VX Visa Card is a good value if you fly VX a ton.