I don't understand why several posters are saying it's because the OP used his miles to get award tickets for other people -- with flights that aren't anywhere near NYC.

Who cares? NW sure doesn't.

The only time I've ever used my miles is to get tickets for other people - sometimes it's involved my home city and sometimes it hasn't. NW has never once said anything to me or reviewed my account.

NW shouldn't care how you use your miles for award tickets or who they are for. Just in May I used miles to get my friend a ticket for IAH-MSP-MCI and then MCI-DTW-IAH. My mailing address is near SEA. They didn't question it and happily took my 25,000 miles. NW also doesn't know or care whether my friend paid me for the ticket or not (which I don't do).

I think there's something else going on here...

-RM