Does anyone else remember, in the late 1980's, when airline passengers were outraged that that collecting frequent flyer awards was virtually impossible, due to the restrictions? It even made the front page of the New York Times! Back then, the airlines resolved this dilemma by loudly announcing that they were (a) cutting back on the mileage required for a restricted award, from 25,000 down to 20,000 miles, and (b) creating a new unrestricted award for 2X the restricted miles.

Well, here we are in the 21st century, and the 20,000 mile awards have virtually disappeared, and the restrictions are tighter than ever. So essentially, the airlines (slowly and imperceptively) resolved this dilemma by doubling the price for award travel.

Unethical? Maybe, maybe not. Callous disregard for loyal customers? Definitely.