Marriott
$1600 = 20 nights in hotels + 90,000 DL miles

Hyatt
$950 = 10 nights in hotels + 6 award nights + 55,000 AA Miles

I swear upon all that is holy that this is a true story with actual numbers... I'm such a O.C. dork I ran the numbers in a spreadsheet before deciding to plan my hotel stays this summer.

How it was done, if anyone cares:

• I picked the cheapest reasonably located Marriotts and Hyatts I could find wherever I was going
• < $80/night Marriotts (average, incl. tax)*
• < $95/night Hyatts (average, including tax)
• All stays were for exactly one night
• I legally alternated nights between two accounts -- I even told the front desk what I was doing most of the time. One time, I admitted as I checked out and back into the same room, that "I know this is strange." The FD agent looked me in the eye and replied without skipping a beat, "No it isn't." No, he wasn't being sarcastic or falsely polite. And yes, the miles have already been deposited.

So, for $2500+, we got 30 nights in decent-to-great hotels, plus $1500-$2000 in Hyatt nights (they will be used), plus $1450-$2900 in airline miles depending how you value them.

I think these two chains have lost money on us this summer.

Thank you FlyerTalk for letting me know about these amazing promos

*FWIW, this includes a few nights in an amazing, breathtaking ocean-view suite upgrade in a FS Marriott given as an apology for checking us into an occupied room.