I agree with you. However, in my view, I can keep GCs forever, but I can't keep free annual nights. Points can also be taken away, as many Amex churners are currently experiencing. So, I'm thinking that I should try to expend my points & free nights to extract their value, whereas I can keep GCs and use them when I run out or close accounts.

If I ended up using it all, then I agree that using the money directly on rooms makes more sense. I'm in a long-distance relationship, and flying frequently, but after I move back locally in a couple months, I don't anticipate using hotels more than a couple times a year, and that's already covered by the free nights.