Your third point is incorrect, re year end timing. I was skeptical about this too, but the spend for the $5k/2 elite nights is date specific based on when the charge posts.

My WOH statement which closed mid January included the spend and final nights I needed to hit 60 nights this year. Any elite nights earned by spend will be backdated if you cross the $5k threshold in that year. I did this purposely to extend the length of time I'd have to use my cat 1-7 cert