It really depends on the offer and the perks. Like the example in the article the guy got a $700 ticket to Singapore and then got enough miles from it for a bus

It really depends on the offer and the perks. Like the example in the article the guy got a $700 ticket to Singapore and then got enough miles from it for a business class ticket to Europe. So he easily saved money, maybe even in the low thousands. I think the value is there, but you have to be willing to take a plane to nowhere and burn entire weekends just to get it. I certainly don't think that's worth it, but there are a lot of people that do.