One thing to be aware of is that first class is charged 3x economy, which given the product is a pretty standard domestic business class setup doesn’t make it great value. Economy redemptions I think are excellent value vs. the cost of the ticket.

If you're not gold be prepared to argue about the booking fee.

Taxes / fees tend to be extremely low; I used Avios for a SEA – ANC return and they came to a hefty $5 per passenger.