I assume you are a US resident. Did you get the Marriott Premier Visa? If you did, you will get 15 nights towards elite status each year. You will also get a free room certificate each year that is good for six months (category 1-4 at signup and 1-5 upon future anniversaries). Starting this year, every $3,000 in spending on the US Marriott Visa cards earns an additional elite night with no cap on possible earned elite nights.

Biggest differences between Hilton and Marriott:

1. Marriott counts status based on paid nights stayed only. You cannot get status based on number of stays. Most systemwide promos are night based, but they do have some that are stay based. They don't count award stays towards elite status like Hilton.

2. Marriott is stronger in full service properties whereas Hilton is better at the limited service properties. Courtyard does not give free breakfast to gold or platinum members (although some properties choose to do so out of their own initiative).

Many Courtyards that have been renovated have stopped serving a breakfast buffet, which is a minus if you have a big appetite for breakfast and/or like to drink a pot of coffee and/or a large amount of milk and juice without paying for each cup. Also, the Courtyards that have buffets sometimes offer a continental option that is fairly cheap and allows you to eat fast.

3. Marriott guarantees all gold and platinum members lounge access across the world. It is not tied to whether you get an executive/concierge level room.

4. Marriott has an Ultimate Reservations Guarantee. If you get bumped from a hotel, they have to pay you cash in addition to giving you a comparable room at another property. At full service properties, they also have to give you two free room certificates (no capacity or category limits). Platinum members also get the certificates at limited service properties. Being FT, you should also contact Marriott for point and elite credit for the bumped reservation (not a listed benefit but it applies).

5. Starting in early May, all gold and platinum members will get free internet at all FS properties in Canada and the USA (excluding Hawaii).

6. Marriott backs up certain elite perks with cash guarantees : free weekday continental breakfast or lounge access at FS properties, room type for gold and platinum members, and the platinum welcome gift. You will not find a front desk agent denying you a free continental breakfast on a weekday if the lounge is closed, unless they want to hand you $100 cash.

7. Hilton gives a free continental breakfast guarantee if you select room upgrade as your MyWay choice. This guarantee is good for 7 days a week, and they do not exclude resorts like Marriott. On the other hand, Marriott properties do not say that a continental breakfast is a coffee and a pastry like some Hilton properties in the USA.

8. Marriott will seldom status match. They will grant status challenges. You have to ask for one, and you might have to ask a few times in order to get it. For platinum, you need 18 paid nights in 90 days. They will give you the status during your challenge, but you keep it only if you are successful with the challenge.

9. Paid events that meet a certain spending threshold count towards elite status with Marriott. If the event qualifies, you can earn 10 nights elite status from each event.

10. Marriott has an unlisted soft landing benefit for elite status. They will also extend status even if you are supposed to drop at their discretion. Multi-year platinum members (at least 3 years in a row) who fail one year to hit 75 nights will get their account reviewed by a Marriott representative, and they often get a year of platinum comped.

11. Marriott points do not expire. The fine print says that they may expire after 2 years of inactivity, but they don't enforce this rule. Hilton requires activity within 12 months, and they are quick to remove points from inactive accounts.

12. The large systemwide promos (fall and spring MegaBonuses) vary. The fall one requires you to use a Visa card since Visa is paying for the promo. Marriott will let platinum and gold members switch their MegaBonus promo if you feel you will hit a larger or smaller one in the promo's time period.

13. Some of the limited service properties (TownPlace Suites and Residence Inn) only earn half as many points as the other brands, 5 vs 10 points per dollar of eligible spending. I don't think Hilton has this in their program.

14. Marriott gives lifetime status. They recently cut back the number of points required to earn it. You need 12 years membership, and you must earn the level the hard way at least once.

You need 600 nights & 1.2 million points for silver, 800 nights and 1.5 million points for gold, and 1000 nights and 2 million points for platinum.

The old point requirements were 1.5 million, 2 million and 3 million, respectively.

15. There is no equivalent of a diamond force for an award night if you are a platinum member at Marriott.

16. Marriott has two unlisted levels, platinum premier and 5 star platinum. The former is determined by being in the top 3 % of all platinum members over some unlisted time period. It seems paid nights plays a role, but revenue does not seem to have a set criteria.

The 5 star platinum is a lifetime status that can only be given by Bill Marriott. I believe there are fewer than 200 such people in the entire world (although socrates may know better as a former Marriott employee).

17. Marriott has travel packages that let you redeem for 7 night stays and airline miles. For the US carriers and a few foreign ones, you can get one mile for one point with these travel packages (50-120,000 miles per package). This is a pretty sweet deal, and you can get lifetime status with AA by doing this.