Jon Maiman

I use Marriott as my primary program and IHG as my secondary program. I also dabbled with Hilton for a short period of time many years ago when they were running an unusually good promotion. In general I find Hilton earn/burn ratio is relatively poor. While the footprint is fine and the properties themselves are generally fine too, I haven't felt compelled to try Hilton again. For Marriott, I spent enough years with them as my only program that I earned lifetime titanium. So I never have to worry about status with Marriott. For IHG, I am a "credit card" platinum.

HIX'es have been good for road side stays and also for some stays near national parks. Kimpton is more upscale and nice for city stays. IC footprint is very limited and old school stuffy isn't my cup of tea anyway. Staybridge is generally okay as well. Holiday Inn is very mixed, CP (at least in the US) is an avoid unless you know the specific property is good, and Candlewood Suites is even worse than CP. So distilling it down for me IHG is mainly about HIX and Kimpton. I find that useful enough to be worthwhile. HIX especially complements Marriott well in less populace areas though Marriott is catching up.

While there are also some bad properties in Marriott, overall Marriott quality level is better and more consistent. For resort properties, I find Marriott to have much better options. The Holiday Inn resort properties tend to be very old and run down (at least in my limited experience).

I haven't done much international travel though hope to do so when I retire. I think both IHG and Marriott will be useful for it.

Anyway back to you situation, I recommend trying Marriott for a year or two. If you like it, 10 years will be enough to earn lifetime platinum. It is currently the highest lifetime level you can earn. Lifetime titanium was only available for a short period of time when they were merging the Marriott and SPG programs. Lifetime platinum is still enough to get you free lounge access and complimentary breakfast. If you decide to try Marriott, look into if a Marriott credit card is available in your region. I am not well versed in their credit card offerings outside of the US; however, I believe at least some other regions also have one available that gets you some elite night credits per year.

--Jon