Originally Posted by CFFrost

I'm trying to compare points earning based on credit card spend to decide which card is better to put my $ on.

Hilton no-fee Amex earns a base of 3 points per $ (though the bonus categories could easily make that higher). That means that $30,000 spend gets you a minimum of 90,000 points (if you put that spend on the Citi Reserve instead you also get a free weekend night cert). This is enough points for a free night at a top category "aspirational" property - or close enough to it that the bonus points would clearly put you over that mark.

SPG Amex has no bonus categories (other than SPG stays) so $30,000 spent = 30,000 starpoints. This gets you a top category "aspirational" property which is price at 30-35k starpoints, assuming the property participates in the program. It also gets you gold status (which I don't particularly value, especially since 40k on the HH card gets you Diamond).

In the end, if you're talking about value per dollar spent, the two programs are still equal, even at the top level. In fact, if you take in to account the $10k certificate from the Citi Reserve card, you get double the value from spending on that card. The only benefit of putting the spend on SPG instead would come from the flexibility they offer in the ability to transfer to airlines - which many people here value greatly. Everything else is just preference.