I hit lifetime plat several years ago. I thought that I would not be hitting the 75 night per year any more. So far this year, I'm at 98 nights ..

I have stayed in all the chains. Hyatts are very nice but just not in enough locations for me. Starwood Hotels vary a lot - it was always very difficult for me to figure out if a hotel had a lounge or not or if I would be entitled to breakfast. Hilton's would likely be my second chain if it weren't for one thing:

I've figured out, over time, how to get the best price at marriott hotels, and except for very rare exceptions - I feel the perks and price I get at Marriott far exceeds what I can get elsewhere.

I had to stay at a few Starwood properties one year. So, I went ahead and did a Plat match intending to hit the 50 nights/year. How hard could it be to hit 50 nights when I do more than 100 nights per year?

Well, I hit four nights that year. In fairness, they now count any nights, and if they did that, I would have hit much more. I love the cash and points - good use of both. But, during the 18 months I had the status, I never found a starwood property that was less expensive than what I could get at a Marriott. Sure, I got upgrades, but the quality of rooms varied significantly property to property. With Marriott, with the single exception of some Fairfield Inns, the quality of one Marriott closely matches the quality of another. Or at least it's much more consistent that other chains.

With Marriott, I know the system. I know the tricks. I know what to do, and I feel like I get from 30% to 60% (sometimes more) back on every dollar I spend - plus some nice perks. And very few problems - certainly none that weren't worked out to my satisfaction.

I have no complaints.

Billy