Changes in the programs, changes in airline level of service, and changes in airline financial conditions have all contributed to me dramatically changing my outlook on loyalty programs. Since much of my travel is personal, I decided shortly after 9/11 that I was better off travelling less frequently and trying to get more from each trip. At that time is was mostly because of concern about that hassle factor at the airport. I think that has mostly been resolved but I am still taking the same approach because the cutbacks in service have made getting somewhere far less enjoyable. When I did the math for my situation I decided that I was better off buying fewer tickets, sometimes discounted business class, flying where I want, when I want and ignoring the loyalty programs to some extent. The programs are still a factor but I am not trying to get status, they are more of a tiebreaker in my decision. I get most of the benefits of status by buying business class anyway. The airlines may look at this and say that I am sometimes paying more for each ticket which is clearly want they want people to do but I am also buying fewer tickets and spreading the purchases over many more airlines. I don't know whether this is good for them or not and I really don't care. The bottom line for me seems to be that the erosion of benefits and just am importantly the erosion of services on airlines has made me unwilling to tie my future travel plans to any airline, I want those choices to remain in my hands as long as possible because there is simply no way to know what the airline will be offering as a travel experience and at what price 6 months from now.