I do understand but perhaps cannot explain it so well in written format.

If all one cares about are points, the enjoy and stay at Marriott...though to me the marginal earned difference between them is pretty insignificant to me. In my case, staying in more luxury level hotels where I spend a lot on food/beverage (which don’t earn points with most higher end luxury Marriott brands or Ritz Carlton), I actually earn a little more points overall with SPG in the end. But I also just prefer the SPG hotels!

Also, If you have to stay 50-75 nights to get the Gold/Plat bonus that gives you the marginally smaller increase in points, I’d say that isn’t worth it for most people. It certainly isn’t worthwhile for me. But to each, their own.

I don’t stay at hotels JUST to earn points; I stay at hotels I like and want to stay in. Then I enjoy the points I earn as a wonderful benefit. As a SPG Plat75+ using the SPG Amex, I earn almost as much as any Marriott Plat...and I earn even more points because I tend to spend a lot on hotel food/beverage—which doesn’t earn points at all at comparable luxury Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels. I therefore get to stay in much nicer and more interesting hotels in the SPG Portfolio—especially in the luxury category—and still earn almost as many if not more points in the end. But either way, I get to stay in SPG luxury hotels that I love. There are few comparable examples to those with Marriott, I’m afraid, IMO.

I also spend a lot on my credit cards, so I earn tons more points via my SPG personal and business Amex cards. I also spend a lot on my Chase cards—which earn me points I’d already be able to transfer 1:1 to Marriott if I wanted (I’ve done that only once, for a Ritz Carlton Moscow award maybe 5 years ago). I’ve been able for years to redeem for Marriott awards, and yet I’ve done so only once...because the Marriott awards aren’t as good for me with hotels that I find full and less luxurious and/or airlines that don’t have a good (or any) First Class that I’d want to redeem as awards. Not compared with the ease of doing so for less with SPG.

I dont need to stay a single night with Marriott to earn tons of Marriott points—through all the Chase points I already can transfer to Marriott or Ritz Carlton if I wanted to do so. But it’s cheaper with those Chase points to transfer to a nice Park Hyatt rather than a Ritz Carlton...and in many cases I like the PH more than the RC anyway! (I’ve never cared at all about Executive Lounges or Clubs like so many others herein. I think the food/beverage therein usually is less luxurious. I vastly prefer room service or dining in the hotel restaurant/bar. Hence, I also could care less about the Ritz Carlton Club Level, which is yet another treason why Ritz Carlton even is les appealing to me than comparable Luxury level Brands.)

I’m quite comfortable with how I’ve been earning and burning my points with both SPG and Chase, not to mention Amex and Citi. I’ve stayed at many of the most luxurious hotels in the world using mostly SPG and Chase points, and I’ve been able to fly the best First Class Airlines in the world using the miles I’ve earned through those currencies.

You’re welcome to stay at Marriott hotels because the earning you do on those points works better for you. You likely don’t earn many points on food/beverage like I do. You likely don’t mind staying at Marriott branded hotels like I do. You likely don’t stay at many luxury level hotels like I do. You likely don’t redeem your points for Ritz Carlton level hotels like I do. You likely don’t redeem your points for First Class on Lufthansa, ANA, Asiana, Emirates, etc like I do. So the ways you earn and the ways you’d burn are quite different from mine. Hence, the equation for what hotels to stay at might be different for you than they are for me.