Hiltons definitely give you more points and give out elite status much easier. That's great if you plan on doing a few stays and wouldn't make Marriott's more exclusive statuses; not-so-great if you plan on staying 75 nights and don't want to share the upgrade opportunities across a more diluted status level.

Hilton is definitely stronger in the low-end brands. Scarefield Inns are hideous (IMHO); Hamptons are tolerable. *New* Courtyards are nice; old Courtyards are sometimes not-so-nice. (Old Courtyards sometimes lack the bandwidth to support two phone lines in use in every room, leaving guests without *any* phone access whatsoever. It's happened to me several times at Courtyards that were obviously built before laptops become popular.) Embassies and Doubletrees are usually nicer than Courtyards. (Again, I know there are exceptions.)

Where Marriott comes in stronger is with the upscale properties. I've stayed in quite a few Hilton Hotels that I honestly think should be required to nail "Garden Inn" to the sign. Usually, if I'm in a full-service Marriott, it's a consistently good product.

I switched my primary allegiance from Marriott to Hilton strictly because my travel plans call for a lot of low-end hotels. Two nights of fast-busy signals had me booking Embassies and Doubletrees on my cell phone. Hilton also offers large bonuses to new members, which was a sufficient bribe to get me to switch. However, I still favor the Marriott for more upscale stays.