bonzaiflyer's suggestion is very good one if you decide to use points.

One point to think on though is the opportunity cost of using points. Would using the points inhibit you from using points for a different award (i.e. a Travel Package award maybe?) Maybe you can use airline miles for business class seats that would cost you more than that $1000 savings. If you wanted to use your points for an RC award (which can take a lot of points), maybe it would be better to pay less now rather than more later.

But if you have more points than you know what to do with, then why use your money when you could use points?