Just wanted to say to the OP - Welcome to FT!!!

I agree w/ the others re: the travel package being the way to go given your points.

My 2 cents is redeem for Marriotts internationally if you're inclined to travel outside the US. There are some good properties, and given the $$ exchange rate a really good use of points.

For example, I'm going to London in a few weeks. Since the GBP is kicking the $$ butt (2-1 against us), it would cost a fortune to stay at a Cat 7 hotel in London (figure about $700-800US/night for a basic room), so using points rather than spending $3.5K or above works for me.

If you & the missus are interested in overseas destinations, short of countries (not many) where the exchange rate is in our favor I think using your points (and the airline stuff associated w/ it) is a good deal.

OVMV. Cheers.