Originally Posted by lsquare

I'm fairly new to the hotel scenes. Until fairly recently I just used the OTAs for hotel bookings and I didn't care about elite status. I think I had my mind made up and going to go with Marriott until last week's announcement. Now I'm having second thoughts. I might still initiate a Platinum challenge just to try out the program for at least a year. Hilton really have my attention because their mid-tier status, which I got from my CC, gives decent value.

I like how Hilton gives out Diamond with the AMEX Aspire. Unless I'm mistaken, combine that with a promo, which Hilton seems to have quite frequently, I'll earn more points staying at Hilton than staying at Marriott and using their card to pay for the stay? Not sure how beneficial Diamond is when staying at Hilton's mid to lower range properties?

I was thinking of getting an IHG card as well since I read it's fairly easy to accrue lots of points at IHG.

In general when I travel solo, I prefer to stay in properties between US$150-US$200. When I travel with the gf, then I go higher. My goals are to redeem points for nicer properties.

I guess I don't really know where to start and I'm looking to be better educated on this matter. What do you guys think?