Redemptions vary widely. I recently used 200K points for $8000 of air & hotel, so that was a great deal for me. I had earned the points at 2 points per dollar charged, so $100K of spending, however, most of my CC earning is via sign-up bonuses. You do need to calculate the annual fees spent in opening and maintaining these CCs but I have found the payout better than pure cash.
You do need flexibility with travel dates so it does not work for everyone.