I have been a Diamond user for years now and today is the first time (every time I try and find a *A) flight I have enter the captcha code.
Very irritating.
Users, who exceed the query/velocity limits when using the [Awards/StarAlliance] Method, may be prompted for a CAPTCHA -- this is a requirement that is imposed by the [Awards/StarAlliance] Engine itself.
The OP may wish to use the [Awards/AC-StarAlliance] Method instead.