Originally Posted by
Bob Herrington
You're absolutely right! No one except a masochist would choose coach. It's strictly the only practical way for most of us.
Once you get into the game, you'll find that business class does become practical with enough planning.
Others have answered the SPG question well. I've found that AmEx MR rewards (which work the same way) transfer immediately to some airlines, but others can drag on. When you have enough SPG or MR points, you'll want to find availability and search FT for the transfer times that people have experienced.