I guess, along the lines of what Wine said, what is the expectation?

$1000 for a TPAC (and more flight) and the expectation of enough miles for a "free" 1-way ticket to Hawaii also (I often see saver awards to OGG for 25k miles each way).... why not toss in a few upgrades......

we wonder why we are where we are now - but consider how many 1K's (and probably 1MM LT) earned status on the $500 RT Chicago-Hong Kong that I recall taking pre-COVID...or the old days of milage runs for status.... all this comes at a price.....

Did your son fly on UA metal? (I recall taking my first 787 in J SFO-KIX years ago)
- if so, at least he got BIS credit?

yes - all of these "status" (airline, hotel, etc) programs are essentially tiered glorified rebate programs..... and, whether we like it or not (and if you read FT enough - most are 'not') companies tend to not like rewarding "loyalty" to customers that try to spend as little money as possible for maximum benefit.....