There is an Intercontinental across the aprking lot from the Marriott I've been staying at for 6 months. I looked into the IC program but stayed wtih Marriott for the following reasons.

If I am wrong about the IC bennies, I hope someone will correct me so I can re-evaluate my loyalty to the Marriott chain....

1). Marriott charges fewer miles/room...the IC rooms are a flat 30K/night; JW rooms get cheaper the more nights you book. I'm comparing the IC hotels with a cat 6-7 JW. I think a Holiday Inn is comparable to a CY, but I only use points for vacation, and if I'm burning vacation, it'll be somewhere really nice....
2). Points/stay: The JW gives you 10 points/night plus 3 miles per $ w/ the MR Visa. The IC gives you 10 pts/$ without the visa bonus but you get 1,000 points for booking online. I usually pay about $130/night in Addison (Dallas) so it's a wash for me, but the more expensive the hotel, the better deal the JW becomes. Both chains bonus you about the same percentage for Silver/Gold/Plat status.
3). The CY I stay in has a deal with the Bally's for free workouts while you stay there...the IC charges $6/visit, no aerobic/yoga classes, and the gym is kind of depressing.
4). I have not looked into buying the "Ambassador" status for $150/year. The IC website makes them look pretty good, with free fruit, 1 PPV movie/stay, guaranteed room upgrade, free limo service to the airport, but the actual deal, net of fine print, is never as good as the promo.