I recently missed a flight and had to go on standby. Nothing was available on UA from DEN to IAD unless I flew first to SFO and then took a red-eye. As it was the only option available with my time-frame, I took it.

Looking at my UA Mileage Plus statement it appears that I got mileage for every leg, despite being a standby passenger!

Do all airlines mileage programs pay you miles according to the distance traveled? Or do they usually ive you the mileage of the flight booked? (Direct or not)