to the thread!
You will find this group has lots of different opinions and advice on using points and miles and what works for them. Even though they are all different, it doesn't mean any of them are wrong. We all have different travel goals and priorities. I think that is a great benefit on this thread!
When we did our stays at Ventana Big Sur and the Grand Hyatt Kauai, we definitely got well over .02 per point in points used vs cost of stay by transferring URs to Hyatt. A good number of our international first class flights booked with miles have also been well over .02 per point vs price of actual flight. Emirates with and without the shower, Singapore Suites both the classic and the new planes, ANA, JAL and even British Airways come to mind.
When I plan a trip, I tend to plan two years out. One year to accumulate the points and miles I will need. Then, have them in place a year before my trip to book my preferred hotels and airline experiences. My travel goals are to fly in business or first and stay in aspirational properties for the most part. Therefore, my choices are limited for airline award seats. Those who would rather fly in coach and save their points/miles will have more availability and flexibility for award seats than those trying to snag J or F seats.
European hotels notoriously do not have a great selection for more than 2 people in a room. Just something to look out for when you go to book your rooms.
I treat all of our points and miles like an investment portfolio. Diversification is a key goal for me. I mostly use our URs for transfers to Hyatt. I did recently transfer URs to United to book our flights on Egypt Air in J for our return flight on the Egypt
ABD next year since it was my best option. The value was .017 cpp with the transfer vs .015 using the CSR to book through the portal. But under normal circumstances, I tend to transfer MRs to airlines for flights. If Amex is offering a transfer bonus, then even better. We took advantage of a 25% transfer bonus on Air France and booked our flights in J to Tahiti for this summer. That said, I don't do speculative transfers of the MRs, only when I know I am very likely to use that airline within the next year.
Easiest way to get approved for a business card is applying as a sole proprietor and using your first and last name as the business name and your ss# for the EIN.
Once you are under 5/24 you will be also be 48 months past receiving your bonus on the CSP and you are therefore eligible to apply for it again. Personally, I'd wait and get some Ink Cash business cards first before doing that.
Not sure if you are aware but the Amex Blue Business Plus is a no fee card that gets 2x MRs on all spend up to $50k per year in spending. If you are not looking for lounge access and other benefits associated with the Business Plat or playing the upgrade downgrade game with it, then you are better off with the BBP card as an everyday spend card. It's a keeper card for me in case I happen to cancel any of my Amex Plat cards or other annual fee cards to keep my MRs alive by holding a BBP card.
Hope all of this helps