You can get comped to Gold simply by getting the Sheraton Optima card which is free and the best credit card on the market (transfer to any airline and 5000-mile bonus every 20K points.
Transfer to any airline? Really? I current use American Express Memebership Rewards and you can transfer to most airlines, but not necessarily all. I assume that the points from the CC go into the Starwood program, and from there you can transfer them to most airlines.
How is the transfer rate? Generally I think hotel points are worth much more than when they are transferred to airline miles, since you often lose a lot in the transfer. With Amex I get a one-to-one transfer ratio wiht most airlines.
(BTW, sorry for the off-topic remarks).
And I agree Starwood is great. I've also been pleased with Hyatt but find their number of locations lacking. I'm a Marriott Silver (bottom-level) and have never received any special recognition from Marriotts.