I think you have to work out the sweet spots that correspond to your immediate and general needs. I find a lot of value in niche routes, like SU to various parts of Russia, intra Asia awards, domestic US awards (although I haven't done any of those recently, I don't go to the US any more) and promo awards. There are definitely good deals in there. But they won't be found on a route like Paris-Geneva, or many similar in Europe. These can be bought cheaply for cash.