I don't think HR departments viewed frequent flyer miles as a clever way to deliver tax-free compensation. The deal offered by the airlines was corrupt (divert your company's spending from another airline to us enough times and we'll give you a trip to Hawaii), but banning employees from collecting FFMs was so unpopular that companies accepted them and adopted procedures to limit the abuse (such as making you book your ticket through a company-approved travel agent that has an incentive to get you the lowest-priced ticket). If it were a legitimate deal, the airlines would have given the FFMs to the buyer (the company) rather than the buyer's agent (the employee), but they all refused to do this.

These days, FFMs are much more complicated since you can get them in a lot of ways that involve spending your own money. Often, you are effectively getting a refund of part of the commission that credit card companies charge the merchants who you buy things from. A credit card that gives you the refund in a more direct form is probably a better deal, though.

Did you see the incredibly stupid commercial with the guy who talks about how his friend owed $100,000 to the IRS and made his payment with a particular credit card and as a result got a free business class trip to Australia? Sure, there was a convenience charge (text on screen says that it's something like 3 or 4 percent, which would be $3,000 or $4,000), but business class to Australia! Every time the commercial came on the TV, I just marvelled at it.

I was going to point out that motions to adjourn don't need a seconder, but then I checked Roberts Rules sites on the web and apparently they do. I know I've been told they don't, and I assumed that the pedants in question were at least well-informed pedants. Another illusion shattered.