<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pinniped:
I almost always choose to earn the "native" points to maximize the value I get. The exceptions are promotional offers </font>
Welcome to FT! Pinniped has given you some excellent advice. I tend to favor hotel points over miles because I have had so much success redeeming at very expensive properties. (With planning one can usually find pretty cheap airfares) But, I do follow Pinniped's rule.