Originally Posted by Scrodzilla

That's like saying "What's so great about pizza in comparison to roast beef sandwiches?"

It's just an alternate way of having reliable foot retention and is a matter of personal preference. I happen to be fond of both and wouldn't necessarily say one setup is better than the other. I can, however, easily see why more trick-oriented riders would prefer platform straps over clips.

Originally Posted by TejanoTrackie

Toe clips / straps were designed to work with rigid soled cycling shoes with slotted cleats, which were used prior to the days of clipless pedals. They don't work very well with soft running or casual shoes. I have toe clips / straps on some of my vintage bikes, but use them only with rigid soled shoes. I bought a set of bikeage pedals / straps for my urban FG (aka naranja), so I can just jump on it with whatever I'm wearing, and have some degree of foot retention w/o tearing up my shoes or feet. Sometimes in the summer, I just wear sandals or flip flops, so this seems to be the most comfortable option.