We used to do that, but you're missing out on the only *good* way to get points on credit cards:
Sign-up Bonuses
You can get 60,000 to 185,000 points depending on the day and the card. That's the only way to do it. In the last two years, starting in prep for our trip to France, we have earned 550,000 points over 9 different new cards. (in case you're wondering, our credit scores have risen across that time and tend to stay in the upper 700's/lower 800's) Originally I wanted them for business class on long flights. So far I've mainly used them for free hotel nights. You can stay at a Hyatt Park Place for 5,000 points. A lot of people doing this tend to save them for staying at fancy resorts for family vacation. Turns out that we travel a bit differently.
For our next big trip we fly Guadalajara to Lima, Peru (via Mexico City) using a Volaris annual pass, so the round trip is $500 for two people. Flights after that are mostly hopping around on shorter hauls. No real option for business class with points there. Easter Island might be business class on LATAM but we haven't finalized that yet, and won't be paying with points.
But the next time we go to Europe, or when we head to Japan, then definitely!