Well, as a Marr LT Plat (and I think maybe Hyatt also), my prime secondary program was to go to the other extreme: Holiday Inn/ICH.

Why? Travels take me to towns too small for a Marriott family property, and often a HI Express is the newest hotel in town or at a lonesome interstate interchange. Or, for the times when Manhattan Marriotts and similar are just silly-expensive, the HI chain fits the business budget, and i've come to enjoy the good locations of the HI Express on 5th Ave near the Library, and the one on 29th or so within easy walking distance of Penn Stn -- which I like for staying in Manhattan even when my flights are in/out of JFK or EWR. (There's an Indigo on W28th (across from at so-so Fairfield) that looks like a quiet place to stay......Add in some Crowne Plaza's with too-good-to-miss airport locations, such as FLL, or an intriguing historic property such as the IC on Michigan Av in Chicago (vs. a generic FS Marriott convention hotel acrossthe street)...... the HI/ICH points do add-up.

So, the HI system fills the holes in the the Marriott portfolio and my points portfolio...... I'll admit that the HI points are the easy "give-away" ones for friends and family......or happily, you can turn HI points into an Amazon.com gift card, so I don't feel any points go to "waste"........