To the OP: before you move to another group, like Starwood or Hyatt, be sure your new group of choice is available where you travel. My job takes me from cities like New York, Toronto and Las Vegas to places like Indiana, PA, St. George, UT and San Angelo, TX. Unless you are with Marriott, Hilton or maybe PC, it will be very difficult to get/maintain status if your travel patterns are anything like mine. I had a co-worker move from Hilton to Starwood, well, he recently moved back to Hilton. There just weren't enough Starwood properties in the towns where he had to travel.

BTW....i have been upgraded on 8 of my last 10 stays, 4 of which were suite upgrades. I never saw that with Hilton, perhaps its because Hilton gives status to anyone that has a pulse.