I get what you're saying -- it's not about the points you lost, it's about the hassle of having to create a new account if you go for more than a year between stays. This has happened to me with Hilton as well. And guess what? I don't stay at Hiltons anymore.

I log about 50-70 nights a year in hotels and sometimes they come in "clusters" at a particular chain, depending on where I'm traveling. I might not stay at a particular chain for 18 months, and then have 20 stays at that chain in the span of a few months. Hilton has lost its chance at those 20 stays because I'm sick of having my account deleted.

Hyatt never seems to do this, btw. I've gone for years between stays and my account (and points) are still there.