Just started accumulating RR in earnest a few months ago per new business travel, and just now having enough to redeem for trips. In the distant past using SW airlines, I seemed to recall the rewards system being tied to flight segments. Now, it's points, and my question has to do specifically with strategy on the use of points.

Point redemption for free flights appears to be directly tied to the $$ price cost of the flight. Up and down in tandem with the list price. To me this completely defeats the main strategy in use and application of points -- find flights that I can "buy" with points that would otherwise be expensively priced if I was buying with dollars. If the flight is getting cheap enough, points-wise, for me to take my family of 4 somewhere on vacation, it's also probably cheap enough, in dollars, for me just to buy it outright and not waste the points. Run that loop enough times, and I never use the points unless I have so many of them that I can buy expensive flights.

Am I missing a way to maximize value of RR points, versus dollars for those same flights?