Maybe it depends on where in the US one lives, but speaking decent Spanish has come to be really useful to me pretty frequently. And it's always been very rewarding in those moments when it has. It's not an every day thing, but at least once a week I find myself in a situation where having Spanish was definitely useful, if not required.
That is far less frequent, maybe once a year or so does it feel "required", but then it's been especially rewarding to have it.