My two cents.

I gave hilton a ton of business and then they jacked up the award redemption rates. ALON went from 100K to 175! They did give you about a year, but I don't have that much free time and that is besides the point.

Going forward, I moved to Starwood because I accrue a lot of my points on my credit card and their points are better. You can use them at starwood, transfer to airlines, etc. If you want to top off the SW AMEX is the best way to go. idine is great for keeping old accounts from going inactive.

Starwood has more upscale properties in some great tourist destinations. In the US, however, you'll have more opportunity to earn HH points becuase there are more HH properties, especially in markets outside the top 30 or so. Try finding a starwood in Tallahassee!