My organization gives American miles as incentives for some of it's events (we are a non profit and the events are used to raise money). Raise $350 get your choice of a pair of Bianchi Bike Gloves, or 1,000 miles, all the way up to raise $5,000 and get your choice of a Bianchi Mountain Bike or 10,000 miles, with various prizes in the middle. Obviously, this is a bike ride event. After $5,000 you start getting into free trips.

We have to pay for the miles we get from American, they are not free. That being said, if somebody is at the $325 level, they will go out and get the extra $25 in pledges and payments to get those miles. I believe way over 50% of the people eligable choose miles over the other prizes. It's an incredible incentive. We can not sell the certificates directly to people, our agreement is they will only be used as an incentive.

I don't think the demand for miles at inexpensive prices is all that much of a drive. I think for many people, and certainly most of the people here, it's the hunt, not the kill that makes it fun. We can all buy miles from our airlines, they all sell miles. That isn't any fun, it's like hunting in a zoo, it's way too easy. Most of us here have way too many miles to know what to do with them all, and would never hand somebody say $50 for 100 miles. But tell us to collect thirty two boxtops for those same miles, and we will all run out and buy cereal.