I used to cash in my miles for an international upgrade as soon as I reached 25,000...but now with being exec plat about every other year, I use the evip's and save up the miles for premium class tickets for friends and family members. So I continue to earn miles, and get (slowly) ever closer to the 2MM mark.
Hotels are stranger, I tend to hang on to them, and then use them all at once, if at all, last spring using around 300K Hilton points for 2 rooms for a week in Paris with the aformentioned family members...good bang for the points!
Current balances:
AA 275K
HH 52K
Marriot 107K
SPG 130K
Hyatt 29K
ICH 55K
By some standards on this board...nothing to write home about, but I feel like I'm getting close enough for that round-the-world premium class ticket and the required hotel stays to make it memorable!
Great discussion, glad to find out I'm not the only "collector" out there...and they don't gather dust around the house.