Originally Posted by
ijgordon
For most of us as US based flyers, it is not a valid alternative. You'd lose one of the most highly sought after elite program benefits - domestic upgrades. Additionally, I know many of the Euro FFPs charge fuel surcharges on award bookings; several hundred $ on long-hauls. Not sure if SK does that too, but it's 50 times worse than the fees we're discussing here, which many people won't pay at all, ever. @:-)
Last year I had to redeem BA miles for my parents, and had to pay $300 per ticket for a "reward" ticket for travel from IAH to MAN. But BA and LH and other European carriers have a better in flight service. Perhaps they are charging for the better service.