You are right about that! Six weeks prior to my to my brother’s graduation at Notre Dame I tried book a flight from NY/LI with my Sky Miles. The only flights available had at least three connections and would have taken up to 12 hours traveling time. The operator told me condescendingly that I should have booked at least six months in advance if I wanted the direct flight option. Tens of thousands of miles available and they’re practically useless.
In his job, a friend of mine booked hundreds of thousands of miles as he flew all over the world in his job.
He’s now retired and finding out the miles don’t have near the value he expected.