Slightly OT, but related anecdote: just for the heck of it, I used points.com to exchange 30 USAirways miles for 1 Delta mile -- for no other reason than to extend the life of my Delta miles (the addition of the 1 mile extended the expiration from Dec. 31, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2008).

I really have no burning need for either USAir or Delta miles, and have tiny, tiny balances in each program, so the points swap was more just "because I can." I was actually quite surprised that points.com let me swap such a small number of miles/points; with most programs that participate in points.com, the minimum swap is something like 2,000 or 5,000 or whatever. @:-) However, for swaps out of USAir, the minimum is just whatever amount produces 1 mile or point in the destination program; in this particular case, only 30 miles.

Anyhow, it was an easy way to extend the expiration. Even easier than registering one of my credit cards for Delta/idine (Rewards Network) and then using that card at an idine-participating restaurant!