until just recently, (less than a year), it was only 70K. i snagged a few to rio, right before the milage requirement went up. perhaps there is a glitch that is showing them as as 70k RT while searching, but correctly prices them when booking.

you cant use the distance vs. cost equation. look at ewr-europe flights compared to iah-south america or ewr-hnl flights. makes no sense to me.