I'm not showing nor implying any sense of entitlement... I even said it is at the discretion of the business to do as they wish with the points. I just think its a crappy policy since it eliminates the little bit of extra benefit that the employee receives from having to travel. If it was my business I'd use the points for upgrade certs for my employees.

Lets say you're a DM... how would you enjoy finding out that ticket you are on that normally costs $300 is ineligible for an upgrade (which you likely would've received) because the company used points instead?

I mentioned the travel agent because it would be nice to know ahead of time that you're not getting any credit and no chance of upgrade, instead of being confused and wondering what happened.

I work for businesses that use skybonus and they do as I mentioned - they give the tickets as incentives or perks.