The home-grown points card might make sense for you if you meet the following conditions:

(1) You plan on spending a LOT and redeeming points for tickets as soon as you reach the required levels. Why? Because these programs are usually half-baked to begin with and tend to go POOF at a moment's notice. Don't get caught with 100,000 points in the bank the morning you wake up and find a "404 - Site Not Found" message at the program's home page.

(2) You have a citypair in mind for your awards that is always expensive with 21-day-advance and Saturday night stay. If your desired award is usually cheap when you buy the most restrictive tickets, then the value of your points is somewhat less.

(3) You don't get aggravated out of your skull making old-fashioned phone calls to book awards. You will likely get put on hold, and you will likely talk to someone who is only marginally interested in helping you get your award. These programs don't typically have robust, well-thought-out websites and online booking tools. Hey, at least they don't make you use Pony Express or carrier pigeons to book awards.