Yet another case where a customer has somehow come to define a "decent" airfare as well below what's reasonable and customary, let alone profitable, while a "reasonable" fare is viewed as out of the question.

The OP can go as high as $300? It wasn't so many years ago that short-notice, full-Y transcons cost $2,000. The going rate on DTW-SFO for the OP's dates is $416-$448 for one-stop connections, depending on time of day, which is incredibly reasonable for short notice at the height of summer vacation season.

I personally think it's a terrible waste to throw away 40k Amex points rather than pay $120 above your fantasy price point.

I also think than when we get down to three network airlines in this country plus a handful of gadfly cherry-pickers, and the majors acquire pricing power, we are going to get back to thinking of a "normal" transcon fare as $450-$600, which is where it was in real dollars not so long ago.