I also value the Pay With Miles feature on the DL Gold, Plat, etc. cards; sometimes it helps the vacation budget to knock a few $100 of the airfare without making a huge dent in award miles.

I'm also one who has been challenged to take advantage of the Companion Cert but that's due to limited personal travel. Previously, when I had the Gold, I was easily able to use the $100 cert.

My 2024 plan is to keep using the DL Plat card through mid-year and see if I need the (measly at 20:1 exchange) MQDs and/or the 2023 MQM rollover to hit Gold based on updated travel/flight spend projections. If the Plat spend isn't outrageous to hit DL Gold, I'll keep using it. If not, I'll go back to the DL Amex gold card (PWM, 15% off awards).