There in lies the correlation with the pyramid scheme - only the experts and clever guys will get the considerable advantage, but the majority of flyers will never reap the benefit.

The guys on FT represent the flying elite, people who know the ins and outs of airline industry, fare classes, routing options etc. True many of us may use our miles to the best advantage. But FT members and similarly informed flyers are generally people who design ways to accumulate miles with the very purpose of using them hence the biased few (in favor of miles) seen in response to this thread. However such experts form the minority.

For most people who fly and who accumulate FF miles I again say that the miles will likely never be used - they have no clue of all these ingeniuos ways of obtaining bargains to exotic locations. I know several people who take numerous foreign trips related to work (who are also by definition very busy people who barely have time for holidays) and accumalte 100s of thousands of miles every year or two but they will never use them. What would they use them for? Many barely are able to take even 2 weeks holiday in a year. Many of those in FT are different because they seem to have abundance of time and the flexibility to travel at any time of the year, go on Holidays and to take mileage runs and can thus accumulate and burn miles easily, in a way many 'normal' people can not.

For most of the trillions of miles in circulation amongst the majority (uninformed flyers) they will forever remain unspent, hence the scam. I suspect the airline industry knows this as they only redeem a small proportion of miles they issue every year. Maybe next time you are in the real world waiting for a delayed next flight ask the person next to you what has he done with his miles lately.