You did fine. There are still $44 one-way fares SJC-BUR in July on certain days of the week. There were $39 fares during the anniversary sale SJC-BUR but they are long gone.
The points deal on the credit card is better, but only if you don't accidentally let the points expire. You probably have to spend money to keep the points alive and actually remember to do it. A redemption does not reset the expiration clock. I bet a lot of the credit card bonus points actually expire worthless from average folks forgetting about their RR accounts for two years.