For the traveler to Alaska they might get a good value with 20k points...or they could try and priceline a comparable hotel for $100 or less.

To get good value for points you need to redeem a lot more than 20k and that is what I was replying to. My 7 nights at grand flora, 5 nights at capri, and 6 nights in Paris all valued out at around $0.04/point...but were redeemed in bunches of 100k+.

It is just like FF miles. Sure you get good $/pt redeeming for business class....but you will rarely get that same value if you are only redeeming a small number of miles/points at a time.

Assuming the infrequent traveler has no status to get lounge access or any special treatment then the redemption value is even lower compared to lower cost travel sources. IMHO less frequent travelers are better served by priceline than by the rewards point game.