This past Friday I booked a flight to LAX on NWA, oh yeah, and I left Friday too, I booked and left the same day, WOW. It cost me $5. I think in the old days this would have cost me some outrageous amount, but not sure what. The only thing that comes to mind is in the old days you had to call to get an award ticket, I think. This time I used the internet to book it, no customer service help for me, so it much cheaper for them to process. Could this be the ultimate difference.