Hello all,

Very loyal SPG member here. In Q3 I'm going to be traveling around Eastern Europe for 3 months. Except for Poland, Starwood doesn't have much a footprint in those countries. As such, I'm thinking ill get a status match (or fast track) with another chain. However I'm quite unfamiliar with the others.

Does anyone know if Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Carlson, BW or Hyatt have a large footprint in Easten Europe? And if so, does that chain have similar rates to Starwood? And then assuming multiple chains do - which would be the best chain to choose as my backup?

I love the Platinum benefits especially, upgrades, late check out, free breakfast and free Internet. I like lounge access and free drinks, but its secondary to the other benefits for me. I'd prefer to have a backup that offered similar benefits but was also a similar price (e.g., if four seasons offered this it would be nice, but I can't afford 3x the price).

Thanks for the help!