Pinniped, I'd like to start by saying that I have a great deal of respect for you, Sharon, Socrates, and a few others on this board. I always enjoy reading your collective insights.
I hope people don't see this as me throwing a tantrum, taking my ball, and going home. That is definitely not the case. I will continue to stay at Marriott properties; my wife and I have several favorites that we would be hard pressed to book elsewhere when we stay in those cities.
The thing with Marriott is that hitting Plat is a very tough slog and requires significant loyalty. Even with 25 or so annual night credits from a MR Visa, you'd still need to hit 50 nights each year. And prior to this year, you never got night stay credit for MR Visa spending so it was 60 nights plus MR Premier Visa. I no longer 'have to' book Marriott in order to keep Plat so this offers me the chance to expand my horizons a bit. Hyatt may not work out. No worries, I've got Marriott Plat.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
Starwood does, I believe, now offer a challenge. One advantage for it is that it's well-suited for your one-night stays. (See their board for more details - I think it's a sticky.)
Unfortunately, their policy is NO PRIOR PLATS.
I could go gold with their credit card and am considering that option. Gold would allow me to hit Plat with another 15 stays; I consider that to be a relatively easy path to Plat.
I'll have to see if Hyatt's willing to give me a challenge first. And as usual, I'm overplanning this stuff. I've got time off right now (not working) so I've got time to devote to perfecting a strategy come next summer. When I'm back working, I won't have the time to dig deeply into each program.