I'm spending a lot of time in the Northern VA area, and will be for some time. I'll easily make Platinum. Here's my dilemma, after Platinum, what next? Do I stick with Marriottt and continue to stay at the Dulles Airport Marriott (nor a horrible property, but far from the best I've ever stayed at), or do I switch hotels/chains and earn status someplace else? There are a boatload of hotels around, so I've my choice of numerous Hilton properties (HHONORS), Hyatt's (Hyatt Gold Passport), Westins & Sheratons (Starwood), and even a Crowne Plaza (Priority Club).

If the answer is to switch and earn status someplace else after making Platinum at Marriott, which program/chain would you recommend? I tend to prefer staying at FS Marriotts, when possible (as opposed to FI, CY, Ri, etc.)

I do use Marriott Rewards points for travel, but I save them for GOOD travel. As opposed to the Harrisburg Fairfield Inn, I'm more likely to redeem MR points for stays at the Tokyo Ritz Carlton or the Phuket JW (actually, I got a good rate there, so I just went ahead and paid for my stay), or the Koh Samui Renaissance. I like to go to different, and relatively far-away places when I go on vacation. One drawback to MR is that there aren't really any TRULY exotic destinations (for example, no Marriott property in Chaing Mai, Laos, or Siem Reap, nothing I can find in Africa that's safari-related, etc.)

So, given my travel patterns and how I spend MR points, if the consensus is to switch chains after Platinum, where to?

Thanks!