The game is the same across the board. Looking at upcoming trips I am deciding whether to credit to AA or not, I'll get a lift of 30-something to 100% over the mileage accrued with the flights, and that's including EXP and COS lifts. Forget manufactured spending or running a business on your CC, which relatively few people do. This is hyperinflation - any EXP who pays to sit in premium cabins is getting this. I have burned a ridiculous amount of miles in 2014 alone and I'm still sitting on a good chunk of them, all of that before I even have collected a single mile through the current promo. It's simply not realistic to imagine that the redemption costs will remain the same.

I don't like these sorts of changes, for sure. I can't think of them not coming into play, though. You'd never charge someone the same amount for SFO-ORD the week before Thanksgiving than you would in the dead of February. Doing so with miles makes zero sense. Personally, given how many miles I am sitting on, I would rather be put in a position to use more miles and less cash for a flight, than to have to pay surcharges for the same.