Originally Posted by
sdsearch
Starwood is the outlier here. Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Club Carlson, Choice, and Best Western, they're all "calibrated" similarly at 10 points earned (at least many brands) per dollar spent on hotel stays (not counting any credit card or elite status), while SPG only earns 2 points per dollar. (Hyatt is the only other one that's similarly "calibrated".) So both earning and redemption at Starwood are completely differently "calibrated" than most other hotel programs.
But the OP already belongs to both Hilton and Starwood, so presumably knows the difference.
This is true, but for me it evens out because places like IHG, etc... require at least 20,000 points to book a night (minimum) in my experience, whereas Starwood requires 7,500 points to book a night (in the tier of hotel I usually stay at). So with Starwood I may be earning less per dollar, but I need less to book a night - which is especially good for everyday purchases. If both IHG and Starwood give me 2 points per dollar spent on anything but Starwood requires fewer overall points to book a night...well, I definitely prefer Starwood.