<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by michaelr:
Would you do that?</font>
No. I think one Starpoint is worth more than 2.5 HHonors points (I value one Starpoint at somewhere between 3-3.5 HHonors points).
As for availability, it depends on where you want to go and how far out you book it. If you're not Diamond, you have to contend with limited award availability. Not so with Starwood.