Originally Posted by
MemphisQueen
To clarify I've never found a Hampton Inn for less than 35K a night and I've never paid mroe than 10K a night at a Courtyard
Search on Kansas - Category 2. Tons of Hampton Inns. (Remember, by virtue of the fact that you're actually considering a Hampton Inn, you're probably looking rural where there simply isn't anything else.) Heck, I did this search and even found a pretty new HGI and a Doubletree. I was expecting only Hamptons, but whatever...
For example, Let's take Waikiki Beach...
I'll stop you right there. If you're talking Oahu and you're talking MR and HH, none of the properties you listed are where you want to be. With HH, you probably want the HHV. With Marriott, you probably want the JW Ilihani or perhaps a timeshare property.
Of course, the real advice I give is to take the short flight onward to another island - enjoy Marriott Kauai, Ritz Kapalua, Grand Wailea, or Hilton Waikaloa Village. (But that's off-topic I guess...)
Call me crazy but I'm still confident that my MR points go WAY farther than HH points.
I don't totally disagree...I think the Travel Package awards are something that HH simply can't match. I'm AA Lifetime Gold, in big part because of Marriott. (Gold is a weak status for a true frequent AA flier, but it's a
wonderful status for a heavy Star Alliance flier who wants a good backup option.) One day, I'll be AA Lifetime Plat...and it'll be about 30-40% because of Marriott.
But for someone who isn't logging 300k+ MR points every year, they might find it a lot easier to reach the 175k HH level and get more bang for their buck out of the HH program.