I think the Marketplace offers decent alternatives for using miles if you also need MQMs to retain status (a concern for those of us in the lower tiers who travel only for leisure). The hotel vouchers in particular are a good way to offset the price of travel yet still earn MQMs. Until the drop in the value of the euro, I could find 1cpm deals, or better, on hotels in Europe, but now many of those are cheaper in dollars too.