Hi everyone!
In a shocking twist we actually ended up holding off completely. Everything moved SO quickly for us and we just thought it was better to pull back than to go all in on a huge contract. I'm not sure what we'll do next. We want the Grand and want to do at least 75 points direct for the benefits but who knows what will happen when we call again and if we'll be able to get on that waitlist again. I'm nervous we may have lost our opportunity to get points there but we had a few reservations and just couldn't spend all that money on a 200+ point contract without feeling confident in everything.
I will say that all your help was SO appreciated and made us think about things we hadn't thought about before. My husband is even wondering if we can give up the direct perks and just buy all our points resale...especially now that the price increase is going into effect. I'll be watching to see what happens with ROFR moving forward. Maybe the right contract will even come along and sway us.
Ah! I hope we did the right thing.