Originally Posted by
mfirst
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.....
As per my previous post here, there are still distanced based programs where you can maximize your flight's CPM (does not even have to be award booking). And, you can still game UA's program if you know where to look.