I suppose there has been some "inflation" in miles but its just a fact of life. UAs program is still far and away the best.

You think UA is bad try AA. I had a friend who needed to go LAX-ORD two weeks out on AA, cost him 50,000 miles and a $100 fee for Y.

I manged to get an award SBA-ORD same weekend in F for 40,000 miles and a $15 fee.

Which program sounds better?

I have allways been able to find reward flights that meet my needs.