escape4

I think it was a win in the short term, yes. Starting when Starwood points and Marriott points could move freely between accounts, I have used my points almost exclusively at Marriott properties rather than Starwood properties up until August 18th because that is where I got the best value for the points. But as @margarita girl stated, we often got lots of opportunities to earn points on the Starwood side. So most of my paid stays were with Starwood, and most of my points redemptions were with Marriott. However this was only a temporary issue. Going forward I do not consider myself a "winner" anymore. My Starwood points earning has gone down due to the decrease in welcome points, MAGC, Amex, BRG, etc. The Marriott properties that used to offer the juiciest points redemptions have gone up (at least those in my most frequent destinations). So the situation is more muted going forward in my opinion, but I accept that I have benefited in the last 1-2 years.

I fully agree with this statement. Of course everyone loves free breakfast at SPG properties. If a SPG hotel is 10% more expensive than the Marriott counterpart, I will gladly stay at SPG and enjoy benefits because it will more than cover the 10% difference, assuming they are otherwise equal properties in terms of quality. However there are some locations / dates combinations where for some reason the Marriott property is much cheaper, cash or points, than SPG just like in the SF example above. So while I value free breakfast, I won't pay several hundred dollars more per night for those benefits, and I will be happy to try the Marriott property without elite benefits. In many cities I think sometimes mixing things up is interesting rather than repeatedly go to the same property, even if I am satisfied. That's just my personal preference though and I can understand those who stay loyal to one specific property all the time.