i went ORD-EWR last week. it was an M fare at $397. earned me 4,367 RDM's and in the old system it would have gotten me 1,438 RDM's. positive of 2,929.
i also went EWR-SFO last week. it was a W fare at $193. earned me 2,123 RDM's and in the old system it would have gotten me 5,130. negative of 3007.
it's a point example, but then i look at my aggregate yearly total for 2014.
i had 112,947 PQM's last year and spent $24,539 PQD's. and 101.5 segments if that matters. my airline activity earned me 220,314 RDM's according to my statements.
in the new system i would have gotten 269,929 RDM's for a gain of 49,615 RDM's.
it's a little more, but not by much. guess everyone's situation differs depending on your flying habits, but at 1K/GS for those who purchase Y and under, it might not be all that bad, so long as long haul international flights aren't the majority of your tickets. then you might get squeezed on discount economy tickets. but in the old system, segment flyers on last minute tickets got the shaft. when i covered the eastern territory and my flights were primarily NYC-BOS/DCA/CVG/ORD/RDU/etc., i felt i always got the short end of the stick because i would spend $1,000 on a last minute ticket... and then net 1,500 RDM's.
i guess my point is, there's no perfect system and someone will always get screwed. personally, i like the new system given my travel habits.