You bring up a good point how the utility of these benefits is very much influenced by location and lifestyle. I'm fortunate that I am in close to proximity to Minneapolis-St.Paul and Chicago. In anticipation of the upcoming Platinum changes, I upgraded one of my Gold cards to a 2nd Platinum. Booked a 2-night stay in Chicago, for $365.00, to burn the $200.00 credit, was reimbured, and got an additional $300.00 after the refresh, and immediately booked a 2-night stay in Minneapolis for $330.00. These are not high-end luxurious places, but they are comfortable and provide good service, and I also earn loyalty points.
One of the properties was quite clear that THC was not stackable with Hilton Diamond, and then another associate added it back upon checkout.

I don't want to turn this into a political discussion, but back in March of 2020, I was planning a short trip to Vegas to get away from the winter weather, however, I had a couple family members in healthcare that convinced me to cancel the trip because of a virus. In November of that year, I made the decision to skip Thanksgiving. We ended up having a short Zoom call to "celebrate."
In late December, 2020, there was some discussion on Flyertalk whether IHG would extend their annual anniversary certificates. They waitied until the last minute, choosing not to extend them, but to issue brand new certificates.
I suddenly had an "old" certificate that was expiring in 2 weeks, and a new certificate. At least one person on Flyertalk said they believed it was ethically wrong to use the old certificate, after a new one had been granted; that we were taking advantage of IHG.

I had already decided, without telling my family, that I would forgo our normal Christmas gathering. Happy Thanksgiving would now be Merry Christmas, and another Zoom call. I wasn't going to be visiting anyone, and it was probably the maximizer in me, but I made the decision to use that certificate. I walked a couple blocks to a restaurant that was still open, sat at a table as far from others that I could find, and then walked across the street to our local Holiday Inn, checked in, got my 500 points, and a bottled iced tea, since the bar was closed.

My entire trip from dinner, to checkout was less than 15 hours, and I had traveled less than a mile from my apartment, but for those 15 hours, I felt like I was on vacation. Using that IHG certificate was my Christmas present to me.
I know not everyone wants to travel to Minneapolis and Chicago in December, and I'm not saving any money, but I like traveling, staying in hotels, eating good food, and getting away, and if Minneapolis or Chicago doesn't suit you, there are other reasonably-priced properties, in Oceanside, California, as SanDiego1K pointed out earlier.

Since the 15th, when I upgraded a Gold to a 2nd Platinum, I've used:
$200 Hotel Credit
$200 Airline Credit
$300 Hotel Credit
2 x $100 Resy Credits
2 x $71 Lululemon (2 polo shirts and 2 pairs of socks

Most of these are "treats." Since I've had the Delta Platinum, I use my $10 Resy credit for a gift card to a Minneapolis restaurant that I like, and pair those gift cards with the $50 Resy credit from my Amex Gold.
Last time I went to Minneapolis, I felt a little self-conscious when the bill came and I presented a stack of gift cards. The bill was around $75.00, after tax, and I gave him exactly $100 in gift cards and told him to keep the change. In addition, because I purchased one of these gift cards on January 1, I got a bonus $10 holiday coupon that had expired the previous week, but I gave it to him anyway.

After a short conversation with a colleague, my expired coupon miraculously became valid, and his 25% tip became 35%. Now for my next visit, I can just bring a single $100 gift card, eat $60-$70 of good food, and tell the server to keep the change. You can also bet that next week I'm going to be wearing my Lululemon polo shirt and socks to work. Heck, why shoud I care? On Fridays the office is mostly empty anyway.
I don't know how to put a value on these "treats", but $30 net for 2-nights in a Minneapolis hotel, a $100 property credit, and a meal at a nice restaurant are worth something, just like redeeming an old IHG certificate for an early Christmas present. I've leared, over the last few years, not to take traveling, staying in hotels, or eating in restaurants for granted, so when I get the opportuniy I enjoy it.

I think too, there may be a certain amount of cheeriness that Amex, unlike Chase, chose to give these "treats" to existing cardholders immediately. It's amazing how many posts and messages I've read and received from people that are also visiting lululemon for the first time or figuring out how redeem their Resy benefit before the end of September.

findark, I owe you an apology. When I was at work, very tired, and reading these original posts about FHR and fancy hotels, I saw your post and read it as:
"I never stay at the Four Seasons. When I go to Hawaii, I stay in a front cabin."

I've never been to Hawaii, and hope to go someday, but when I read that, I thought, "They have cabins in Hawaii?"
When I hear the word cabin, I think of 2 things:
1) A guy I knew that would go to his cabin in December, so he could go out at 6:00 AM and go ice fishing on the lake. No thank you. I'm going to stay inside, where it's warm, stream some Netflix, and Doordash it.
2) Lincoln's boyhood home on the plains of Kentucky

So I was picturing Hawaii, with it's beautiful beaches and luxurious hotels, and then past the beaches, beyond Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue, is findark, living in a cabin, like Thoreau and Abraham Lincoln.

If American Express ever partners with REI or Duluth Trading Company, I think I'll have to draw the line. If I ever have to carry an axe, or cut firewood, I'd be worried about accidentally cutting my leg off!
Don't worry....after waking up, I know that staying in the front cabin OF AN AIRPLANE, is not the same as roughing it in the woods or in the remote corners of the Hawaii wilderness, but it still made me think of this bit from John Pinette and it describes me perfectly: