For my husband, who joined in 2008 and made platinum right away, it was a combination.

First of all, we bought a Marriott timeshare (which so far has been perfect for our family, only EOY at Ko Olina). Then, we got the Visa card to only use for his work travel. Finally, he travels frequently to a couple of cities where Marriott is the closest or most convenient hotel chain - one is a full service Marriott and one is a Fairfield Inn. We have seen his points rapidly accrue, and in only 18 months he has almost 500,000. We're saving them for a big family trip (we have two children) one year - don't know when. Maybe to tack on next year at Ko Olina for airline miles and 5 nights stay (timeshare owners can get vacation packages for 5 nights as well as 7).

Personally, I use the Starwood Amex card, and think they have the best credit card. I've stayed with my kids at the Swan and Dolphin at Disneyworld for free several times, plus we used our points to stay at the Moana Surfrider on Oahu (which we love) for free. Their redemption amount is very small, and you can transfer to lots of airlines. I don't use the Marriott card, to keep it separate for business.

The nice thing about the Marriott Visa is that my husband gets 10 points per dollar at Marriotts, plus his 50% platinum bonus, plus the 5 points per dollar on the Visa card, so he gets a lot when he travels.

I would look at your location to decide. I've never been to much into Hilton, so can't comment on them. We've been happy with Marriott so far.