Pardon the naive question from an IHG newbie. As I understand it, the experts view IHG points as worth .64 cents to .7 cents depending on who you ask. In other words, burning 266k points should save me at least $1700, not $1000. And the points you get back from spending the $1000 are worth less than a tenth of the difference. Is the value gained by earning the nights high enough to make up the difference? Or is the valuation I quoted way off? Or is there something else I'm missing?

Thanks.