one other consideration in the points vs. price equation:

* many hotel programs allow one to purchase points(Hilton
in this example). So, one comparison might be the hotel
rate vs. Priceline & purchased points...see which ends up
being the best deal.

Or course, if you're on a threshold of number of stays and
moving up a level in a hotel program, you could view the
extra $$ paying hotel rates as an 'upgraded' fee to a higher
level in the program.