I do notice some new rewards that may have value to some--Southwest credits are now available as a reward, as are 25k and 50k blocks of miles, and guest room stays at Vacation Club (used to, you had to go for a villa).

And a points decrease on at least one award--most Courtyards appear to be Category 2, which means the one-night reward there is down from 11,000 to 10,000, and it's now valid 7 nights a week (weekends only before, as I recall). Not to mention all categories have any number of nights from one to seven available now, and all valid regardless of the night of the week.

So it is not accurate to state that all the changes are bad.