Well for many people the 99.00 companion fare is woth it. Of course you still have to pay taxes on the fare not the 99.00 but whatever fare the person you are traveling with chose! So it is really 99.00 plus taxes, all TAXES.
The other certificate is a dollar certificate depending on the fare you choose.

So most people will pay for those two things. If you are into using upgrades for hotels and cars then it is an added benefit. The leather is cheap but it doesn't look like plastic and it has about ten spaces to hold ID and credit cards, and passport. For traveling it is not bad. You can get one each year and really for the added one pass mile bonus and the companion ticket and the discounted ticket, IMO it's worth it.