No judgment from me! Vacations are personal experiences. As long as you're happy, it sounds like an amazing use of your points!
I feel the same way!!!
I completed my minimum spend on my CSR within the first month easily because it coincided with the holidays and a family trip to Hawaii. I'm sitting pretty on 112k UR points. I convinced my wife to sign up, begrudgingly, for her own CSR before the online bonus ended in January, and we're close to meeting the minimum spend on hers before the second month's statement closes. I've been reminding her to charge everything to the CSR and have been helping her along by charging all our online payments to her CSR. But it was bugging me that
my everyday in-person spending isn't towards some new bonus.
Looking at the cards out there, I thought about the United MileagePlus Explorer card, which has an increased bonus right now of 50k miles/$3k spend (plus a $50 statement credit through a dummy booking), but an even higher targeted offer of 70k miles/$3k spend. Unfortunately, I wasn't targeted and couldn't get the 70k offer to pop up. I already have the United MileagePlus Select, which is kind of a legacy card for cardholders from before the United/Continental merger, and the Explorer just didn't offer enough benefits that I'd actually use in the next year for me to take the lower bonus right now.
I did jump on the Amex personal Platinum 75k MR/$5k spend incognito offer (which I see is now public). I know, I know,
I know that Amex occasionally offers 100k MR points for the Platinum, but I've never been targeted for that high of a bonus and I'm wary of leaked links after reading about frozen MR points pending reviews and clawbacks. I'm halfway to meeting the minimum spend requirement and 75k MR points is good enough for me. MR points can transfer to Hawaiian Airlines (our preferred airline to Hawaii) at 1:1 (plus excise tax), and I'm holding out for a transfer bonus. I can also use the Platinum's $200 airline fee credit towards Hawaiian Airlines gift cards. All of which we'll use towards our next trip back to Hawaii. In my mind, this was a much better deal than signing up for the Hawaiian Airlines MasterCard from Barclay's, which offers just 35k miles bonus, or 50k miles in-flight or through a dummy booking. I might sign up for the Barclay's card sometime in the future for the additional bonus miles and one-time 50% off companion discount. Oh, and since the Platinum comes with Hilton Honors Gold Status, which offers a 5th night free, we'll probably use that benefit during our Thanksgiving week trip to
Disneyland!
Edit: details, details...