Ha I guess I was asking the wrong question, and the right one was what Platinum benefits am I not considering. I can and do use miles for Polaris awards. The change this year to allow PQP earning on those is actually why I'm able to make Platinum. Usually I'm about there on segments, but ~$2k short on spend, so it's never even consideration to go for it.

Thanks for the education, and tip on SDC which I hadn't thought of.