Shell games? Give me a break. You are in no way getting swindled, extorted, or gypped. You are getting not only the flight for which you paid, but points in a program that gives you stuff beyond that for which you paid (e.g. upgrades and free tickets). There is no deception involved except for the deception inherent in all marketing, namely in getting customers to believe that they are getting the best deal in the world. But a shell game? Puhleeze.

As I said, if all they cared about was just flying people, they could eliminate the rewards programs altogether and compete on amenities and pricing alone. Maybe that would be better, and maybe it would even lower costs since they could spend less money on loyalty programs and more money on improving the hard and soft product. But at the same time, loyalty programs are a fact of life today, whether it's for travel, for restaurants, for retailers, what-have-you. And loyalty programs give you things beyond that for which you paid. While it might be nice to see all loyalty programs eliminated in favor of spending that marketing money elsewhere (e.g. improving service), loyalty programs themselves serve a purpose as well, and people love the impression that they're getting something "extra" ... which they are.

So as I said, if you want an airline that focuses on the "core concept" and doesn't offer any FF program, vote with your wallet and go for it. I'm fairly satisfied with the system as it is. (And note that I am not a very frequent flyer, nor am I rich, nor do I even use affinity cards.)