*sits back and waits for 'but the seats would've been empty anyway brigade'*
Let it go for crying out loud people - its going. Done. Finished. Use up your points and worry about something that actually matters.
As has been said it got East Coast business that they otherwise wouldn't have. So whilst it may be a small % of the final price it's still something they wouldn't have had otherwise. Also, remember that to get points on a ticket where you didn't use EC you still had to spend £25 (?), and I'm guessing EC chose that for a reason.
I also imagine most people booking travelled with East Coast, there may be the odd one who didn't but they will have likely been few and far between and if so, the chances are they weren't using the free EC tickets anyway and redeeming their points on something else.
I've already started using Southern for their Rainy Day Guarantee because I've no chance of getting enough points (without spending £1-200 on an eVoucher) for a free EC ticket.
To me, it seems like the guy in charge doesn't really know much about the scheme and what EC have built up. Virgin are used to starting things themselves and being the 'revolution to the line' (WC is the shining example), East Coast however they are taking over from an already well respected company that already has a great customer base and it seems to me like they're not quite sure what to do.
The fact they've had to put out another statement about the state of the Rewards scheme should speak volumes to them. There's no positives to Nectar over the East Coast scheme other than you can earn points whilst you shop elsewhere.
But spending £255 on EC Rewards is 'one Free Standard Single', £255 with Nectar gets you £2.55. Which is better?