[jimworcs]

Excellent article, which shows just how fake these programmes are. The incentive programmes are simply a means of selling miles to other companies as "incentives", which makes the schemes profitable as long as not too many people redeem them.

The irony is that it is the low cost pro-consumer airlines such as JetBlue and SouthWest which beat out the established carriers, such as Delta and US Airways. These schemes are not worth it. The fees are often more than you can get the tickets for online. I would never join a US based frequent flyer programmes with a legacy carrier. They are a con pure and simple, and in any other industry the Attorney Generals office would have taken action against these scammers. Sadly, they are prohibited from doing so in law, following deregulation.