Each program has their advantages and disadvantages. The biggest short-comings for Marriott in my book are the high qualification requirements for elite status relative to other chains (most of my stays are just for one or two nights, so quaifying on stays works for me) and I'm just not a big fan of their hotel chains from CY/RI on down (the high-end properties I'm good with).

Where Hilton wins for me is that they have a better line-up of chains than anyone (including the aforementioned HGI chain, which I too believe is the best chain in terms of quality vs. cost), free breakfast (except W-A's ), and the Diamond Force. It also doesn't hurt that there has been an abundance of promos recently.

I've been staying at Hyatt's a lot with all their promos recently, and I like them in general, but of course they are quite limited in hotel selection and it gets awfully tiresome having to call at least 50% to get the correct points posted for stays.

The biggest benefit of SPG Platinum, the suite upgrade, is so hit or miss it seems that it really is problematic in my book. Their promotions recently have been underwhelming in my opinion. The varying quality of the 4 Points chain is another short-coming in my book. Of course, you also have to factor in their relatively limited number of properties.

As for Intercontinental, the fact that they have separate elite status for the top tier chain and the rest of their hotels is a big negative in my book. I like being able to stay at nice hotels on vacation and get elite benefits based on my stays at lower level hotels when I'm traveling for work, with the separate RA program for InterContinental hotels that's just not possible with them.