Originally Posted by
irishguy28
If that were the case, it would be possible to extend the lifetime of your entire balance indefinitely, without ever again actually earning a point/mile/Avio.
It's a frequent flyer account at heart; if you're not topping it up with new points/miles/Avios, then you are not playing their game and they don't want you.
I agree, but paying an award cancellation fee provides more revenue to IB+ than buying a song on Itunes through the shopping portal.
I suspect that it's just IT design that allows book-and-cancel to work as a way of extending the life of miles/points. Several hotel chains have no problem with the life of points being extended by booking and then cancelling an award reservation, but that may just be due to the way the IT works, rather than a conscious decision.