I'm a Platinum Marriott member and haven't had the best experiences. I rarely seem to get upgraded. I got my points through a combination of stays 40 nights and credit card usage.

I'm thinking about switching to Hyatt or Starwood and am willing to open a credit card with them.

I know Starwood has a platinum challenge but it's 18 nights in 3 months, is there a better way to get there? And does Platinum matter at Starwood?

Does Hilton have a challenge, does having high status help there?

Thanks

Chris