Sharon, I'll respectfully give my answer to the 'I've got Lifetime status, now time to stay/fly somewhere/someone else' question. I didn't get into hotel programs until 2003. And that was by accident. Prior to that, I'd register for a program, stay there once or twice, and then forget about it.

2003-2005, I logged 375 nights in Starwoods and got a taste for Plat status and generous upgrades. Staying New Years Eve on points at the Sheraton on the corner of 7th and 53rd. Getting the Presidential suite in Chicago. Beautiful suite upgrades in Florence and Venice. Etc, etc.

I had one stay at a Marriott in 2002 (probably several before that but that was the only membership that Marriott could find when I switched). After reading about lifetime status, I chose to make the leap over to Marriott in 2005. I didn't ask for status match or challenge. I slogged it out and got to Plat. So from 2005-2010, I've logged more than 1000 nights' credit. Keep in mind that I went out of my way to pretty much only stay at Marriott properties during that entire time. Maintaining Marriott Plat's tough work and it requires almost complete loyalty to the program. Making enough night credits for LT status in six years has meant that I've been completely loyal to Marriott. It's like I've only eaten vanilla ice cream for six years.

Would I stick with Marriott after hitting LT Plat? Sure, if I saw anywhere near the same high percentage of upgrades that I got as an SPG Plat. But that hasn't been the case. Marriott has offered a reliable product at all times, unlike SPG. I've stayed in some really bad 4 Points and even some Sheratons have been spotty. I think the only questionable properties that I've hit in the Marriott system were a Courtyard (I think it was Little Rock) and the Hunt Valley Marriott which doesn't deserve to carry the FS Marriott flag. I'm probably forgetting a few others but you get the point.

I'm now older and can afford to shell out more bux for a hotel room. As such, I expect a reasonable number of upgrades in exchange for my loyalty. I don't consider seeing less than 5% suite upgrades as a PP to be enough value added to make Marriott my #1 and only hotel chain anymore.

Just as I gave Marriott a chance in 2005, I am now ready to give Hyatt a chance to snag a bunch of my stays. I can always return to Marriott if I'm not happy with Hyatt. And frankly, I'm sure that there will be some issues that I'm not pleased about; no hotel program's perfect. I don't like Hyatt's minimal presence in Italy, Greece and Spain.

On the other hand, I can get top tier at Best Western by simply sending them a no questions asked elite matching form. And I can get Priority Club Plat by simply getting a credit card. If I want Royal Ambassador, I can shell out $500 on fleabay plus $200 for Ambassador and voila - instant RA. So those paths to top elite are so easy that they require 0 advance stays on my part.

It's not that I'm leaving Marriott. I'm just ready to try some chocolate or strawberry ice cream. Vanilla will still be in the rotation. Think of it this way. Instead of Marriott being my #1 and only, it will go to #2. Since Hyatt doesn't require as many nights to maintain Diamond, I'll probably still spend some time at Marriotts.

... I forgot to mention. My wife's traveling a lot now. I steered her to Marriott and she'll be hitting Plat this year. So if we end up booking Marriott, it'll probably be on her account as she needs to keep hitting 75 nights for plat.


Edit: Just to drive home the point about upgrades, I stayed at the Denver Marriott City Center on 5-10 May. The hotel was a complete ghost town the entire time - the front desk told me that they had 26% occupancy. I would've guessed lower. The hotel has 599 rooms; 14 suites. And I wasn't upgraded to a suite as a PP? Sorry, that's a fail in my book. And no, I didn't ask for a suite. I never asked for a suite at SPG properties either; they simply rewarded me for my loyalty.