Always amazed to hear of folks who have huge stockpiles of miles. Myself, I convert miles to flights or points to cash or gift cards ASAP. Instead of focusing on one program I do 30 at once, including flight, cash or merchandise cards. Never really had the desire to use the miles for upgrades as I love to sit near the wing for stability while reading and to watch the mechanics of flights (an old aerospace worker in a previous life). I'm a tagger, not a mile runner, maximizing countries tagged per trip. Give me a 3 day weekend and I might tag 6 countries or on occasion just hang out on some obscure island it takes 6 flights to reach. As for racking up miles, I collect a modest amount working for the bureau de change. OK, maybe modest is a slight understatement.