I too like looking at this "value" for amusement purposes only. Kind of like when I redeem int'l F and chuckle at that fact that someone actually pays $10,000 for that seat that I'm getting for miles. As long as you don't get too carried away with it, it can be fun. I enjoy looking at the back of the door in hotel rooms to see that $399 rate quote. I laugh because somebody out there somewhere has actually paid it, and I'm there on hotel points.

My reality is that I generate most of my hotel points through credit card purchases and rental cars. Because those always involve a trade-off (e.g., I'm giving up cash rebate credit cards in order to earn SPG, HH, and MR points), I have to take the conservative approach when it comes to making earning decisions. Therefore, I always think "What would I do if I didn't have hotel points?" On Kauai, I'd book a nice villa for $150/nt. Therefore, that's what I'd value my big 7-night Marriott reward at. That's what I consider when I'm using my MR Visa instead of a simple 1% rebate. Actually, you could argue that I should just take the rebate and invest it and I'd come out ahead, but I do barely enough Marriott business that the elite status and the extra hotel bonus points are worth it.