Ex HHDia here. SO happy I made the switch. I put 150-175 nts at MI, 50 at SPG, 25 at Hyatt now.

A couple of thoughts:
1-giftcards. Routinely at 10% off, plus 5% booking on MrR (if you can pay w/gc's and book yourself) I spend $1K++++/wk, pocket $100 now! ^ When you buy them, they count as xtra points on card!

2-travelpackages. I always run short of miles, so i get 120K miles and a week in a hotel.

3-giftcards for points. Good rate for plat's. Can use them for weeks where it makes sense - ie, rate is >= ~$150/nt. Or use for extras

Not a fan of Hawaii, as I get there for work. Can not rate the hotels...will leave that for others.