Originally Posted by
CDKing
Sometimes i think those that complain the most are foreign members.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't have a ton of sympathy for arbitrageurs, even though I try to be one sometimes (I've bought US/AS/AV miles, I've acquired UA/AA/DL miles when they get very very cheap, as happens sometimes). If you're trying to "play the game", recognize airlines really don't exist for the purpose of giving you Krug and lie-flats for pennies on the dollar.
The MVPs or non-ellites who don't fly AS enough to get fee waivers are the ones who get jobbed here, but even then, it's a pretty narrow group of folks who fly some, redeem on CX, don't live in a CX hub, and have to wait and see the CX inventory get snatched out by everyone who wants CX for (relatively) cheap because they need connecting flights for > 24 hours after they book the ticket. AA's award ticket holds and more flexible rules on changes help here.