We FT'ers are cheapskates. Yet we'll pay for Vanilla Reloads to get the miles. FTU is different because the benefit can't be quantified up front. That bothers some people, I guess.
IMHO the benefit for newbies is knowledge. People who know more going on will learn less. There are diminishing returns.
On the other hand the networking benefits exhibit increasing returns. The more you know the more you have to offer your fellow semi-experts. Then you can keep in touch and maybe get a head start on some great deals.