Originally Posted by
Kacee
The no-notice devaluations are an unfortunate (and inexcusable) Hilton hallmark, and one of the reasons it's my third program (after Marriott and Hyatt). It's been a difficult program for finding good redemption values for several years now, and that is clearly going to be even more true going forward.
It's interesting to hear people rank their hotel programs of preference. With my situation, unfortunately I'm locked into Hilton. It's the program with the best combination of being usable and egalitarian (if that's the right word) out of the major hotel chains for leisure travelers who like to have upscale hotel experiences. I've no better choice unless they end up doing something like >30% points devaluation. Unfortunately Hilton probably has smart people who have done the math to figure out what the threshold would be for x % of people to jump ship.
As much as I complain about the lack of Diamond recognition at Hilton (late checkout iffy, stingy breakfast benefit at many US properties, poor upgrade %, EL quality esp in US), it's the only hotel chain with a good number of upscale properties that make a truly elite status available for a fee, and the points keep pouring like loose slot machine (44 points per $, with Aspire and 2x promos which feel perpetual). In comparison...
Hyatt:
pros: Regency Clubs in US are consistently superior to EL. Predictable late check-out. Good credit card with decent perks and similar value per $ spent as Aspire imo.
cons: Cannot "purchase" a status that's commensurate with hhonors Diamond or even Gold. Can usually purchase RC access for $50-70/night and I do that selectively, but that still doesn't give you the restaurant breakfast option. Not enough properties. Does not hand out points promos like Hilton.
Marriott (I don't know this program as much, so am just jotting down what I know):
pros: Can theoretically buy into Plat Elite (which seems to me the lowest truly valuable status) with $75k spend on cc. And Plat Elite is likely more valuable and exclusive than Diamond. Number-wise lot more upscale properties than Hilton.
cons: aforementioned $75k spend is pretty steep. Many hotels seem to close lounge on weekends, which does us no good.
I sure hope they'll go easy on us with future devaluations. Unfortunately, for now I have no other recourse than to keep taking it up the butt and just stay with Hilton.