Well that's one strategy I suppose! Not one I'd use myself, I wouldn't want to lose control of the account until I knew it had definitely gone.
One thing I would recommend to anyone who hasn't yet done it is to reset your email address to point back to Photobucket, that way you'll avoid any future spams.
My account has finally been deleted, a few days later than promised but I imagine they have a backlog of deletion requests. The only real effect is that all my pictures now appear as a kitten instead of the "update your account" dial.
~iw