Originally Posted by
JonNYC
Can't say if there's anything else, but there's absolutely zero in this phase that has any impact on redemptions. Maybe it's coming (no idea) but it's not in this.
So, to recap, this phase is all about status earning and is good (but from who's point of view: the just barely gold or the long time nearly automatic explat? Aye, there's the rub), a later phase is about redeemable miles, and no phase you've seen is about redemption.