First of all, thanks to all the posters who have supplied so much useful information. Been lurking here for a while and have had so many questions answered from scrolling through this forum.

We started touring around the USA a few years ago watching baseball, and as we had no set route or schedule we used Hotels.com exclusively to quickly find the closest/cheapest place to stay wherever we happened to be after a day of driving. It worked well enough what with the free night after ten, plus we were buying gift cards on eBay for an additional 20% off so it was all relatively economical. Granted we got a few duds, but for the most part they all blended together into an amorphous blob and no chain really stood out (good or bad). Then in 2019 the cheap Hotels.com gift card supply disappeared, so we started looking at the different loyalty programs to see if maybe there were some benefits to picking a brand. After a few days of comparing rates in various travel scenarios, we stumbled across using Bonvoy points to stay at a Residence Inn during spring training in Arizona. 10 nights there and 5 nights at the Westin Kierland for 400k points seemed like a steal compared to a cash price of over $9k. So we grabbed an Amex Bonvoy card and down the Marriott rabbit hole we went.

And then sat at home for the next two years. Only good thing was we kept stacking Bonvoy points, and with all the covid extensions and incentives we also found ourselves Platinum members. So armed with a bunch of points, a couple of free night certificates and 5 suite night awards, we waited patiently for the land crossings to open up and baseball to begin again. Well, the border opened, and there was much rejoicing. And the baseball lockout started, and there was much anguish. However winter was still a thing, so hoping the baseball gods would smile upon us we threw caution to the wind, loaded the car and headed south towards Marriott (almost) exclusivity. And here is what we found...

Jamestown, ND Fairfield Inn: Cash rate, 1 night. Quite nice overall, no complaints whatsoever. Front desk agent was very pleasant and friendly, noted our status and we were upgraded to a suite.

Council Bluffs (Omaha), NB Fairfield Inn: Cash rate, 1 night. Not memorable in any way. we arrived quite late and left quite early.

Little Rock, AR Courtyard: Cash rate, 2 nights. Not memorable. Think we missed being offered the food & beverage credit, not sure though as we were new to this Platinum status thing.

Pensacola Beach, FL Springhill Suites: Cash rate, 4 nights. Great stay here! Staff were fantastic, property was great, we were upgraded to a room with an excellent view. Favorited this one and we'll be back.

At this time I noticed we were getting extra elite nights, and vaguely remember registering for a promotion on the app just before we left home. Did a little math and figured we would be able to hit Platinum on this trip. Cool. Onwards we go...

Plant City, FL Townplace Suites. Points redemption, 5 nights. Not going back here. The room and hotel itself are quite new and more than good enough. The exterior is laid out backwards though, with the grills, pool and fire pit about 50 yards from I4 on the front side of the hotel against the parking lot where it is incredibly loud and the exact opposite of relaxing. Staff were ok, morning front desk person was not a morning person. No mention of status, no upgrade.

Millennia (Orlando), FL Springhill Suites: Points Redemption, 2 nights. Nice place, nice location, full to the rafters. Staff was friendly, noticed status. $12/night parking fee was annoying.

Bonnet Creek (Orlando) JW Marriott: Points redemption, suite night upgrades, 5 nights. Stayed here to use our suite nights. Heh, a bit of an eye opener to a retired dirt farmer from the middle of nowhere. Staff were great, super friendly and very helpful, hotel was fantastic. A few drinks by the pool, a couple of meals in the restaurants, some resort and parking fees and we were out of pocket $900 plus at least another $100 cash in tips (What's the difference between a Canadian and a canoe? You can get a canoe to tip. :-). Some adjustment in thinking about relative value required if we're going to stay at higher end properties.

Orlando, FL Cypress Harbour Vacation Club: Cash rate, 4 nights. Nice resort, staff were friendly, lots of things to do here. Were invited to a timeshare sales presentation because of our Platinum status, not doing that again unless they up the bribery gift to make it worth the irritation and insults. Otherwise a great time and will return for sure.

Brandon (Tampa), FL Fairfield Inn: Cash rate, 2 nights. Ok I think? Nothing memorable at all.

Brandon (Tampa), FL Residence Inn: Cash rate, 3 nights. Staff was great, older hotel I think and getting a little shabby. Full I guess as we couldn't even get a king bed.

Orlando, FL Grande Vista Vacation Club: Cash rate, 5 nights. Another nice resort with great staff and plenty of things to do.

Clearwater Beach, FL Fairfield Inn: Points redemption, 3 nights. Great staff, nice hotel, good location. Valet parking. No upgrade.

At this time I get an email stating we've reached Titanium status. Yay! All those bonus nights really added up quick. Now we're really somebody! Almost as exciting as seeing our name in the phone book (anyone remember Steve Martin in The Jerk?). Also at this time we give up on spring training and start heading back home, naturally the lockout ends and they start up the day after we leave. Ah well, next year.

Atlanta, GA Waldorf Astoria: Used up the last of our Delta Skymiles to stay here for two nights in a suite. Amazing staff, nice hotel and very odd corner room layout. Was kinda cool to try, but a bit too upscale for our comfort zone.

Pigeon Forge, TN Courtyard: Cash rate, 3 nights. Great staff, great hotel. Noted our Titanium status, no upgrade. Still not being fully aware of how the welcome amenity works at various brands just took the points instead of the food & beverage vouchers. Will return here for sure.

Florence, KY Hyatt Place: Used up a leftover Hotels.com gift card on this for one night to see what the Hyatt brand is like. Not going back here. Nope.

Dayton, OH Fairfield Inn: Points Redemption, 1 night. Very friendly staff, nice hotel and downtown location. Noted status and upgraded us to a corner suite.

Rockford, IL Fairfield Inn: Points Redemption, 1 night. Nothing memorable.

Bloomington (Minneapolis), MN JW Marriott. Cash and free night certificates, 4 nights. Paid cash for two nights in a suite, then had two free night certs which they upgraded so we didn't have to change rooms. Nice hotel, very nice suite, staff were great. Somehow though the bill for breakfast exceeded our $40 voucher on 2 mornings, even though we had the identical order every day. Very convenient being attached to the Mall of America.

And finally another Hotels.com gift card used at a Country Inn and Suites in Minot, ND. No Marriotts to be found here in any case, and we've stayed here multiple times now.

So that was a nice tour of a few different types of Marriott brands. A couple of standouts, but for the most part they're all pretty generic to us and the way we stay. Next trip we're going to get off the interstate a ways and seek out some of the other brands for some variety, even the smaller cities have a pretty good mix in their downtown areas it looks like.

And maybe in the future we should be asking for room upgrades at check-in? We just used the checkin through the app before arrival assuming we would get an upgrade if available, but from doing some reading that might not be the optimal method? Not big deal for the one night stays, but the extra space would be nice on the multi-nighters.

Otherwise no regrets going with the Bonvoy program so far. Already looking forward to our next trip and trying some new and different places.