many thanks for the replies so far.

I definitely I have more miles (220k) than money!! and am therefore leaning toward the miles option - those biz. class award tickets just seem like such a good deal. In order to get 2 biz. class tickets though I will need a total of 440k miles to complete my itin. - in order to do this I will have to cash in some Marriott vacation packages (I have about 800k Marriott points) so it is do-able.
To answer the other question, no I do not mind losing status or even using all of my miles - although I do notice that a lot of the posters seem to be working on accumulating miles - I just wonder am I doing anything stupid by wanting to use mine ?
I definitely want to do the OWE and travel so now I'm just trying to figure out what is the best deal for my itin. ?
Also any additions to the itin or suggestions greatly appreciated.
Interesting about the VIPOWs - can I exchange them for miles perhaps, does anyone know?
thanks again.