I'm Hilton Gold and Starwood Platinum. Before Starwood, I focused mainly on Hilton because Sheraton (in which I was a gold) didn't have enough properties that worked for me. The service I get with Starwood is awesome. I call the platinum concierges anytime, even in the middle of the night on my cell phone, just tell them my Starwood #, and whatever I need and they get it for me. Quick. And with a great attitude.

Hilton CS is open very limited hours, and they don't have a special line for Gold VIP's so you're just talking to any old rep (heck, it's not even an 800#!). I had a question for Hilton CS on Saturday, and I was just out of luck for 48 hours, by which time I had made other plans. I say all this notwithstanding the excellent service I've gotten from Adam Burke and his staff.

But on a day to day basis, the service I get from Starwood is far beyond. And while Hilton almost always gives me an upgrade, and definitely club level if there is one, Starwood almost always gives me these huge suites with awesome amenities. And perhaps the biggest kicker is the rate thing. My stays at Starwood count toward status and promos regardless what they cost. At Hilton there are usually lower rates available that don't earn anything, which means I have to make up the difference to stay on that rate if I want to because it isn't ethical for me to bill my employer more so I can get status/promos. If Hilton would change this one policy, that would go a long way to bettering their program.

Nonetheless, I was really happy with a stay I had at a Hampton Inn recently, and they did give me a great suite, and I also had an awesome suite at the Hilton Waikaloa 2 weeks ago, and great service at both properties.. So it's not that I think Hilton is bad, and they do have some great promos like the 4 stays for 50,000 bonus point one last Fall. I think Hilton has a great lineup of properties, and that if they could match Starwood on customer service and upgrades, then they could win out overall.

As for Marriot, I used to stay with them long ago, largely at Residence Inns before those were included in the program. They canceled my Marriot account when I didn't stay there for a while. I signed up for a new one at a hotel, never received a card or anything from them in the mail. Did it again a year or two later, and did get a mailing but nothing more. I had a couple stays over the winter and I used the marriot number, but they never even sent me a statement. So I'm surprised how many people here love that program. But it must be pretty good to hear the way other FT'ers feel about, so my experience is probably an aberration. Maybe some day they'll comp me status and I'll give them another shot. But keeping top tier status in one program and mid in another is about all I can muster. I won't even requalify gold with Hilton this year at the rate I'm going.