FWIW, things that I'd rather have:

Elite check in. Costs almost nothing to implement and goes a long way.

Elite Security Lanes. Always a winner.

Elite Boarding. Costs zero, but is a benefit.

Automatic club (or discounted club) membership. I don't fly much through IAD (though that may change), is there a way to partner with another airline on Lounge access? A place to wait away from the crowds is always welcome, and if it can be had for the cost of a few points and a few dollars, it'll sell well.

Perhaps the ability to upgrade Vehicle rentals by use of points. I dunno how hard it would be to implement, but if it could be pulled off it'd be something no one else (so far as I know) has even thought about doing.

Pick a mainline hotel partner like Mariott or even Holiday Inn and give special bonuses to elite members (free breakfast buffet or free internet access) or the ability to use a small number of points for these things.

Use the WLAN hotspot in the Airport and allow for lower cost or free internet access (perhaps points related).

Most or all of these can be tied to the members account number / pin.

Since the cost of the tickets on Independence Air is already going to be low (relatively speaking), it doesn't make as much sense to concentrate on free tickets, as opposed to other amenities that make life a bit easier. Just the ability to access the airport WLAN for less than 6 bucks a minute (or whatever the ridiculous charge is now) would be a tier benefit that would interest a lot of folks as much if not more than a free ticket, because it's easily attainable and of immediate benefit. Really, if you run your own WLAN in your bording areas or lounges you can do this at moderate one time infrastructure cost, with negligible continuing cost.

Seven for One. Seven trips gets you one freebie. Simple, easy to maintain, and a goal that is neither too easy nor too hard to achieve.

Use points, factored on miles flown + tier status divided by class of ticket. This keeps the holiday specials folks from skewing the system.

Get a couple of town cars and drivers and allow upper level elites to use it at cost to and from the airport within some reasonable distance (say 20mi or to/from the partner hotel). Alternatively, contract with a service for this.

Most of these suggestions are relatively low cost to implement and encourage people to stay with the program and the airline, because they are almost all peripheral services that don't cost as much seat revenue yet make the program stand apart.

Make the airport *experience* better for your elites and they'll be happier, even if the plane is delayed. They'll also buy more tickets because they feel like they're getting more in return.

Regards,
-Bouncer-