I expect an airline loyalty program to do some combination of the following:

1. Induce me to make irrational decisions that result in the airline getting more of my money than they otherwise would have.
2. Induce me to make selfish decisions that I hope whoever is paying for my flight no not notice or not care, resulting in the airline getting more of their money than they otherwise would have.

If these things aren't happening then the airline is not doing a good job.

So I take advantage while I can before they smarten up, which they always do.