I would go to the USA and do a standalone FAA PPL there.
The 61.75 route is a pain because you have to go to the USA (or pay a load of money to somebody here) to get any change done to the 61.75 paper, whenever anything changes. The forthcoming photo license will probably generate the same hassle as the ICAO English Language Proficiency stuff which had huge numbers of European 61.75 holders running around like headless chickens a couple of years ago.