Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
You can't have this both ways- either you're getting stuff that has value as a result of your employment, just like your paycheck, which is a taxable benefit just like income, or you don't actually "own" the thing and thus cannot be taxed on it.
I believe points / miles are classified as a rebate, not income. Just like the $4.00 check you get back when you send in the collar-card on the neck of the Smirnoff bottle. And they are an inherently unstable currency whose translative monetary value varies, at both acquisition and redemption. For those main reasons the IRS has given up trying to tax points / miles. Let's not argue their side.
Originally Posted by thbe
The OP doesn't want her points back. She wants compensation for the value of the points. Do you understand the difference?
The points do not belong to her and have no fixed value, so your distinction is moot.