Hi jan_az,

For many, it's good to have some spread of status, as some of us never know where we'll be from one year to the next. So for example I'm Diamond at HHonors now; my next step is to get comped status at Starwood or Marriott, and then earn enough for that tier so I can keep the status, and then do the same with either Starwood or Marriott after that. That way, next year, if I find myself in a location without, say, a Starwood property (and there are many, unfortunately - the big one for me is Johannesburg), I have a backup with Marriott and Hilton. Once I have status at all 3, then I'll stick with whichever one I like the most for the remainder of 2010, and then next year I'll repeat what I'm doing this year. I care less about points (although I do love them! ) than I do about the status.

Will