One issue the OP mentioned that most everybody seems to be overlooking is that most of his flights need to earn milage to earn elite level. As a leisure traveler I am in the same situation. I am not flying on someone else's money, so am always looking for the cheapest fares and the most miles. It takes pretty much all year to earn gold or platinum, and I know others who are in the same situation. So while it is easy to say go ahead and use the miles, in the real world with time and money constraints, that is not so simple to do.