I also tend to redeem this way.

This weekend, in fact, I used 25k PC points for a $250 Holiday Inn. That's a penny a point. Could not have gotten it on priceline, since everything was sold out in town.

I probably would have spent as much as $125 anyway, so even at that, it's half penny a point. Decent value.

One of my favorite promotions is Marriott's MegaBonus - the version that offers a free low-end (category 1-4) hotel night with every two paid stays. Have gotten great value from that.

I'm not against really nice hotels. But it's quite possible to get them via priceline at great rates and also to find quite nice low-end hotels at low redemption rates.

"Don't let the haters bring you down."