They're an interesting option in special use cases. Eg. I mounted a sensor on my flat building janitor's storage room. I wanted to know if she comes daily as agreed and if so, how long does it take for her to clean the staircase. The RFM69 modules didn't worked so I switched to RFM96 which struggles to get the signal through 2 floors and on the other side of the building where I placed my gateway. And this while using RFM95_BW31_25CR48SF512. It works, but if I were at the 3rd floor, I'm sure it wouldn't have worked.
Next thing I want to monitor the status of the water pumps that are in a special room beneath ground and also on the opposite side of the building. And I'm pretty sure that the RFM95 will not make it there unless directional antennas or repeaters are involved.