Originally Posted by
bhrubin
If you earn points by credit card spend, the Hilton and Marriott awards are ridiculously harder to achieve than the Starwood and Hyatt awards--because the typical 1 point per $1 spend has more value with Starwood and Hyatt because their awards cost less.
It's a mistake to compare hotel cards on the basis of earning 1 point/dollar. Hilton points certainly are worth less apiece than SPG and Hyatt points, but Hilton makes its credit cards competitive by always paying MORE than 1 point/dollar. HH Surpass (Amex) pays 6 points/dollar on restaurants, gas, and grocery stores-- which together are a significant portion of my non-travel expenditure. I've made it my primary card for these categories.