Well, folks, worth the fee or not (and I obviously do not think it is worth it) my concern is that there has been no one to explain WHY there is a fee. There are some excellent theories in here and I've read them all. Thank you!

But I hoped a real US AIRWAYS airline person might enlighten us, and yet I guess they are too scared to get on this board?...

I am not platinum and do not justify fees of this nature. If I start to--if we all let them charge them, then as someone in here said, they WILL just continue to do it! "oh, it's only $75...it's only 100, 200, whatever! We don't care, take my money, please!"

NOPE: Free is free! There should be no fine print, no restrictions, no stupid changes. It is an *award ticket.* Hello!

I will fight for my right to party!

Who's with me. C'mon, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!

So as you can clearly see, I will keep trying to find out WHY there is a fee AND I will keep trying to use these awards. I think I will simply plan a new trip, use the awards up and then be done with an airline that has aweful policies... And policy is not always right. Policy is THEIR right, not THE right. There's a difference in this world and so this particular airline's policy maker just lost my business after I somehow get to redeem my honest and true free award trips-(until I hear of one day when they change their policies, that is)!

If you have to become executive platinum double secret elite (and tell US about it) just to redeem that which you earned as a mere non-status dude, then what's the point?

Of course, if you wish to gimme some of those AA awards you have laying around, I will GIVE away these 2 US Air ones!

THAT is how one choses an airline (or which ones not to take).
thanks!