Clark has a longstanding beef with his nephew David, who is addicted to frequent flyer mileage programs and jumps through all kinds of hoops to accumulate miles. Here's what David doesn't understand: There's an industry-wide trend of airlines devaluing frequent flyer miles. U.S. Airways is just the latest example; they're making the miles tougher to redeem and earn. Having a stockpile of miles is like having a reverse savings account -- the value leeches out of them everyday. What if you use a credit card that earns frequent flyer miles? Clark would prefer that you ditch it and get a card that pays you cash instead. With cash, there are no restrictions on when you can use it. Clark's producer Kim is one of those people conned by the mileage programs. She once redeemed miles and had to fly to the wrong city, while changing planes 2 times to get there and 2 more times to go home. That's a lot of work to take a "free" trip. So what should you do with your mileage balances? The full-fare airlines are adding international routes all the time, so look for new service announcements on their websites and jump when you get the opportunity.