For me as an international member (based in Germany) Hilton HHonors does not do the trick as I have to earn points and status on stays in Germany and Europe for most of the part. With that proposition, Hilton has only the Hilton Brand available in Europe (plus a handful of HGIs) with rates usually outside my employer's allowance. Marriott however has three brands in the market here and using the in my opinion rather fair LNF-guarantee I can make stays at all brands work for me. In addition to this when traveling with the family, I can choose between more Vacation Clubs and Residence Inn's at the places I tend to go. So if you need to earn points in other places than the US, HHonors may not be the best choice.

In terms of redemption I also prefer MR over HHonors. For one I am at loss why Hamptons in this thread are compared to Courtyards - I'd rather think that Hamptons are comparable to Fairfield Inns and that Courtyard would be the equivalent of a Doubletree or Hilton Garden Inn.

Second for my redemption pattern MR makes more sense. I usually redeem for one-night stays when traveling alone on my own dime. My sample would be the JFK-airport area - with rates of $179 and up for a weeknight in a Fairfield Inn I'd rather use those 20K points instead. This compares to:

- Hilton Garden Inn JFK 25K
- Hampton Inn JFK 30K
- Doubletree JFK 30K
- Courtyard JFK 25K

Given the fact the Fairfield Inn also includes breakfast it's the perfect overnight spot for me when everything I need is a clean, safe room and a little food to start off the day. My other choice would be the Hampton - however what exactly will I pay those additional 10K points for?

So I agree it depends on your stay- and redemption-pattern if HHonors or Marriott Rewards is the best program. Given MY valuation of things I dropped HHonors alltogether (fell from Gold to Blue) and will make Platin next week on MR.

Greetings - Dirk