I don't doubt the posters results below but I find that to be a bit of a stretch for the general redemption process regarding HI's... I had 3 nights during a prime period at the Hampton Inn Hermosa beach for 25K per night.. so paying 35K (& IMHO saying often is quite a misleading statement) is the outlier here.
im also confused on the 50% bonus. it was 30% until 3 months ago so its really only a 20% increase. HH Diamonds get a 50% bonus as well plus the my way would allow for another 50% or in essence 20 pts per dollar..that IMHO beats 15 points per dollar.. of course both have credit cards to add to this point total
I'm not sure what DL has to do with this other than that DL bonus but one does not have to choose that bonus as you can take the points instead.
Contrary to what the poster says about a CY, yes there are some for 10K if you like Fargo in December.. but the majority of them are definitely greater than 10K.. so another misleading statement in my opinion.
so to the OP, don't just use this post as a basis for your decision or you are sure to be disappointed
Originally Posted by
MemphisQueen
Clearly on the Marriott board I prefer them, but as one who also did some research before banking in. Getting a 50% point bonus as a Plat means a lot more to me than the HH option. The "miles or points" doesn't appeal to me b/c the points aren't as good as a 50% bonus and I fly enough DL to earn plenty of miles on them on my own.
Also, for similar properties, Marriott points go a LOT farther. Hilton often charges 35K for a Hampton Inn. Marriott's similar property, the Courtyard, goes for 10K a night. Both programs are 10 points per dollar spent. So I can earn free nights a whole heck of a lot faster on MR than HH.
Like others have said - if you plan to primarily travel internationally on points, another program might be better. MR and HH still predominantly have higher end hotels in major intl cities only. Priority Club has the "lower end", Holiday Inn available in many intl cities saving points for nights when you don't need swank digs.
All said, I stay 10 nights at Hilton per year to keep some status, even though only silver. I stay enough nights (usually with a promo) to keep Gold at SPG, Plat with Priority and Plat with Marriott (yeah, I know, I'm never home!). So I share 'em around but tend to prefer Marriott for rewards redemption in major intl cities.