My 2 cents... er .. points:

First off opt to take points.

1. Call Marriott for a Platinum challenge (see the Marriott board for more details... its in mooper's sticky) to get Plat status immediately rather than waiting to earn it.... which you will anyway.

2. See if you can move your stays to a brand that gives you 10 points/$. Residence Inn's suck 'coz they just give 5 pts/$.

3. If you truly LUV Southwest, redeem the Marriott points for a travel package (7 nights stay + 120K Southwest points) which will qualify you for a Companion Pass. Cheapest travel package starts at 270K Marriott points which you should easily get with stays, megabonus, etc.

Good luck!