I totally agree. The "new" EXP segment option is great news for people that have to fly short hops for business, but it really does not offer anything quicker or cheaper for somebody that needs to qualify on their own.

This has been discussed before, but even if you can match the total price to qualify, you will end up with 100K miles total, whereas a "regular" mileage qualifier will end up with 200K miles or more at the end of the year. The 100K miles difference has to be worth something.