bolto1,

There are two reasons why these boards sometimes seem to emphasize upgrades.

One is that the value of an upgrade from economy to business class, in terms of what it would cost in $$ versus the number of miles used, is often much higher than the value of a free award ticket.

The other is that most frequent flyer programs award their most frequent flyers upgrades in a variety of ways, over and above using miles for that purpose. That subject generates its own discussions also.

If you want free flights, though, you should get free flights. Just call the airline.