<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">???... Isn't the point of earning miles to earn a FREE TICKET? In the "FF accrue miles" mindset, this was the equivalent of 25,000 miles being given to you free! Or am I missing something completely here? Wow... </font>
The thing you are missing is
status which for some have a greater value than one free ticket.
With status umlimited domestic upgrades = 10k a pop
Upgrades on domestic award tixs = 15 a pop
First in line for operationals = priceless