I just had the 50% EQM experience going to Buenos Aires. Last year, when planning a trip to Paris, I discovered that the difference in price between a 25% miles-earning fare and a 100% miles-earning fare on Air France was about $20. Woo-hoo! Add the $20 I paid to talk to a person, and the total difference was $40. I was glad I asked. When I asked the same question about my Continental flight the difference was about $400. So I took my 50% EQMs and slunk away to Argentina.