That’s the key here. Frequent flyer programs are one way streets. There is no leverage, “financial soundness,” nor any obligation to actually provide value, only the desire to create that appearance. As a business tool to create revenue (selling funny money in the form of an invited currency otherwise known as miles to third parties) and to encourage future purchasing behavior, these programs represent a virtual currency that is entirely subject to the needs of the airline’s business model. However unlikely it may be, American reserves the right to end or change their program, often in ways that can devalue it and in some instances on very short notice.

Every member’s ability to derive value from it will differ. “Win” with outsized redemptions or “lose” with low value ones, at the end of the day you’ve already played the game by amassing those miles so the program already won even before all of that scheming came to mind.