That's a pretty strong claim. I condemn a lot of economic behaviors that prey on people who just aren't as good at reading legalese or terms and conditions. Ban

That's a pretty strong claim. I condemn a lot of economic behaviors that prey on people who just aren't as good at reading legalese or terms and conditions. Banks reordering deposits and then charging overdraft fees that are far above their actual costs is one example, or contracts with hard to understand add-ons are another. I don't think this behavior is at all like those shenanigans though. Companies that offer frequent flyer miles spend plenty of time trying to offer the maximum apparent benefit while limiting the ways they actually pay out. It's a game where they're often trying to screw you. Screwing them in return (without violating the law or even their own terms) seems fine. If they had a simple system with decent (or even bad but predictable) rewards, like x miles per dollar spent, none of this would even be an issue. But they see an angle from a more complicated system. Sometimes it works for them, sometimes they pay more than they expected.