I just noticed that on a a points plus pay PE seat on a flight to Heathrow return (as a Gold) I spend 200k points to get a PE seat at a little above Economy cash price (~$3k)and get 188k of points back for the flight plus a heap of status credits. That is quite a discount. It is the cabin bonuses which add up that make the difference for me in terms of points upgrades. A very nice seat there and back, plus double status credtis for 20k points net outlay. That is why we stick to them.