Originally Posted by
Phoenixtinct
Other carriers adopt the same philosophy - at the lower level, they limit the number of seats but you can always get a seat for twice the amount.
This was true 10 years ago but not now. Some flights are blocked even at the high mile level even though seats are still being sold. Double mile awards are endangered. Capacity controls became so tight that last-seat double mile awards began to look reasonable. So they had to be restricted too!