Interesting. I just booked three F-class award tickets SFO-SYD for me, my husband and son. When I priced them out they were $34,500 - just more than we spent on travel all this year. I travel all for leisure, usually monthly, and really can't ever imagine having the money to pay for international first-class air travel - even if my son is out and paying his own way and my husband is back in the cockpit jumpseat. I do, however, know pretty much what our retirement income will be and it will be pretty much the same as it is now, even adjusted for inflation. So I anticipate continuing to at least make mid-level status and collecting miles on leisure travel until the day I can no longer walk down the jetway.

I don't save miles, but rather burn them almost as quickly as I can, because I figure saving them only makes me more at risk for devaluation.