I disagree with this. Once people realise that miles/points are not a sign of loyalty from the airlines, then you can collect freely. Collect them if they're available, "oh well" if they're not. It's all based on human greed (to some degree). Spending all your time trying to maximize the value of your points just ruins people's lives.

I recently saw a report on where people were maximizing their points they collect. If you spend all this time looking for the signs so you can maximize your points, you're going to miss the trip. If you spend all the time tracking points with spreadsheets trying to collect every point possible, when are you going to enjoy life? If you enjoy doing this kind of stuff, go for it. But for most people, you look a little crazy. A case in point... one of my friends collects points from Canada's biggest grocers. He also has his brother collect points for him. I think he has over 1mil points right now. He doesn't spend any of them (despite my warning him that if they devalue the points, he's going to lose out big). But that's how he enjoys himself (and doesn't benefit from it)

Better off enjoying your life and if you can supplement it with a few extra trips or benefits somewhere, then all the better.