I'm MSing my Amex Hilton to get gold status. I figure I'll give it a try this year as it'll build my Hilton stash, and then if my current MS methods remain available, then I'll probably upgrade to surpass in 2017 for instant gold and try to MS for diamond.

It works well for me because I can get the points at virtually 0% cost, and I have one random Hampton Inn that is Category 2 and I can get it for 10,000 points, whereas it could cost $130-$160 per night. So that is a lot of value for me.

I also have a mortgage coming up and I was trying to get back below 5/24, so my goal was to do the best I can based on the cards I have.