Originally Posted by FederalFlyer

I went through this when Delta made these changes and I think I finally grasp now who benefits, and it's not me. It's people like my friends in the oil industry who travel to Africa six times a year, in paid business, at around $10,000 a flight round trip. They have status but don't really need it, and are happy to earn 420,000 miles per year and just as happy to redeem those 420,000 miles every year for a single pair of anytime Business Class tickets somewhere like Europe or Asia.