Originally Posted by
benjaminchodroff
Here are some differences.
- Corporate customer service HAS IMPROVED, not perfect
- HHonors program is not that bad? Maybe it used to be worse?
- Value of points is clearly in favor of SPG = agreed
- SPG has cash and points. Hilton also has cash and points, with no problems experienced here...
I'm a current HHonors Diamond as well, so my data points are pretty fresh. But, as always, your results will vary.
HHonors isn't really terrible. If you don't know what else is out there, it's a great program. Kind of like folks that always vacation at Disney. If they really like Disney and they're comfortable with Disney they think it's great. And they forget there's a whole world out there.
Originally Posted by
benjaminchodroff
Can you explain this one a little more? It this about flyertalk.com and handling problem posts, I'm guessing? [I'm new here, sorry!]
No worries, and welcome to FT. It's a great community with lots of collective knowledge. Yes, I was speaking specifically about FT. For example I recently had an issue with the reviews section of spg.com and a Starwood employee researched the issue and posted an answer for everyone to see, to help other folks from experiencing the same problem.
If this was the Hilton board, someone from Hilton corporate would have sent me a private message saying "sorry to hear you had trouble. Can I have someone research and then follow-up with you?" And then no one would have followed-up.
Originally Posted by
benjaminchodroff
I'm going to stick with Hilton another year, but I'm going to try to build up status as well at SPG. SPG properties, on the whole, are better than Hilton's so it's worth it.
If it isn't broken then it certainly doesn't need to be fixed. :-:
Be warned SPG Gold isn't the best (by a long shot) mid-tier hotel program. And, as much as I
about Hilton, Hilton Gold blows SPG Gold out of the water by several metrics.
SPG is quirky in that it's pretty binary, if you're going for status, go for Plat.