I've been out of work now for about 8 months now, and boy am I glad I held on to my ff points. It's nice to be still be able to travel around and see friends and family (and sleep on their couches!).

My current strategy is to use points for all flights that are not on sale or don't have a great price/mileage ratio. Unfortunately it means I will suffer next year as I'll just barely make premier by the end of the year.

I had always saved my points for a rainy day and it paid off, so my recommendation that if you can keep accumulating, do so. This of course reflects my belief that the miles will be good for many years to come.