Interesting first post & thanks for sharing your perspective. Others might question whether it was worth going for the Plat challenge when the OP would have gotten it on the next stay. But sounds like from some of the responses here, status match from other programs is 1x only deal. Challenges are not.

And while getting a free brekkie in the restaurant is the only reason to you that Plat is worth the effort, for others it's other things, such as Plat override, 50% bonus points, Plat amenity gift, etc.

PS - Welcome to FT!

Cheers.