>>Why not go for SPG Platinum!

Due to the patterns of my business travel, I end up in small towns quite a bit. That means that I end up having to use the lower end properties of Marriott or Hilton. The obvious choice for me is Marriott.

For a seondary Hotel chain, that leaves Hilton, Starwood or Hyatt. The folks on the Hyatt board seem to be quite happy with the program. The talk on the Starwood and Hilton boards tends to be rather mixed. (The Hilton and Starwood boards are also much larger, so there will naturally be more complaints)