Like JerseyGirl said, all this presupposes you can actually find a flight for a reasonable number of miles. I would be happy to pay close-in, redeposit and change fees of substantial amounts if only I could get a domestic coach ticket for 25k or BF to Europe for 100k. How about: "We are charing more fees but the award calendar works and you will be able to find saver availability on nonstop flights 11 months out." Then I might actually book a reward ticket for the first time in years and actually need to change the itinerary. How much can they make from award fees if there are no award seats?

It was funny getting two versions of this email yesterday, once as a UA general member and then later as a CO Plat telling me to "rest assured..."