pinniped,

I mostly agree with your assessment of hotel point programs. However, your strategy could be optimized a bit: you say that you will never pay more than a Priceline price for a stay. Have you ever tried to use Priceline for a busy weekend - Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Superbowl weekend, etc?

In those cases, points are worth more than their weight in gold. When it's my money, I use Priceline almost exclusively. But I'm also reserving several hotel rooms for Mardi Gras 2003 with points, in hotels that are probably already sold out.

Also, using points provides a level of flexibility that Priceline (or even a standard reservation) does not. You can change days or even cancel up to a day or two in advance.