This year, I have been using my points to get Gift Cheques ($5K worth). Half the time it posts correctly, half the time it doesn't credit me for the Gift Cheques. Last night I called the MR number and had all of my stays corrected (I've had 5 stays in the last month; 3 needed to be fixed).

Since I'm working on grinding out 800/1000 nights for lifetime status, I figure that this is a much more efficient way to use my points rather than free nights. Also, I booked a room at the Ren Lodge at Sonoma under the govt rate and paid with Gift Cheques. Points-wise, it went twice as far. 3 nights would have been 75K points. My cost at gov rate was ~$250. It costs plats 135K points for $1000 in gift cheques.