Originally Posted by pinniped
True, but a large conversion of Starpoints to air miles is about the worst possible redemption option you can make, except as a last resort. That's why Starwood is more than happy to give you 1.25 miles/point on large conversions!
SPG to miles is a valuable feature of the card - a main reason I use it as a primary. But it's most valuable when you are moving as few miles as possible to liberate orphaned FF miles.
I would argue that 20,000 Starpoints represents about $600 in free hotel rooms, conservatively. If you have a use for free hotel nights, then you can't best SPG. If you don't have a use for free hotel nights (which the OP might not, because of those timeshares...), then cashback is probably better.
But I was thinking that to use it for ff miles is a good option because of the conversion bonus only because you can go anywhere with it. Couldn't you fly to the Caribbean with the miles and get the advantage of a $700 ticket for 20,000 points, or is it limited to domestic travel only?