While staying in Europe, we found SPG often had better located hotels than Hilton - Venice, Rome, Florence come to mind. Or SPG had hotels where Hilton didn't - Santorini, Crete, Nice. The possibility of free breakfast as a Hilton Gold didn't sway us to go to Hilton. I am only gold with SPG and we have gotten some upgrades, but we go ahead and book the better room when it is important to us.

However, before I was married, I traveled a lot throughout the US on my own. I didn't even know what SPG was because I always knew there would be a Hampton Inn wherever I was going. I had zero status with Hilton but it was the first place I would look because they have so many locations in the US that fit my lean budget at the time.