I think that the most crucial point that Randy and some others brought up is the idea of having a "base" for saver awards. The way the current system works, you basically ask the airline for a "saver" seat and they (like that infamous commercial) often (seemingly always) say "NO". Because the capacity control system is entirely closed, for all we know, they may have the whole plane closed to awards until they feel like opening them. For example, if Ford sold cars for $20,000 on most days but other days they would cost $10,000 - why would anyone ever pay the $20,000? Something interesting that I heard about airfares which is equally applicable to these awards is that because the fares and determined by a system that to an outsider is either random or manipulated, that dilutes the value of the product and customers are only willing to pay prices that are considered at least reasonable. It also is not cool when you have to book on a day like a Tues or Wed to get the ticket. It simply is not worth it to me to travel on that day and not be able to take advantage of my weekend to maximize my travel time. I do value my vacation time more than money.

The result of all of this is that while I have and maintain accounts with the airlines, I focus my most of my earning in SPG because I know that I can always use the points easily. It is nice to know that I can get a room if one is available, and not only that, but I can cancel the award rez up to the day of or before WITHOUT penalty. The airlines give me a penalty for talking to a rep to make the reservation, give me hassle to use the miles, many of them give me a small window to confirm the flight, and then give me a penalty should I cancel.

That being said, I did secure tickets to Hawaii with only 4 months notice. I was lucky, but it took many phone calls and several hours on the phone and was quite stressful. For all of the aggravation to do this, I can see why some people have already thrown in the towel.