To win a battle, one must know their enemy.

Airlines, any business for that matter, is not in business to run country clubs for it's members. It's in business to make money for it's shareholders. As much as I try, like the rest of you, to maxamize mileage, want better service for loyality, etc, FF programs and loyality programs alike have to be cost effective on the whole for the company to administer. Remember, these programs are for the benefit of the company as much as for the customer, it's a mutual relationship and we all are "rewarded" for conducting business on a regular basis with a particular company, but the "rewards" can only go as far as the bottom line allows.