[QUOTE=GUWonderI'm concerned both about point hikes per category and category hikes for given hotels.
(The Scandic awards have been just too good to me to risk being surprised.)[/QUOTE]
I'm not that concerned about point hikes per category. There are Scandics you can stay at for under 100$, so you need 10 nights for one free night. I think it can't go much over that because of competition. IMO category hikes for some hotels are more likely. Anyway it is ridiculous that for some ex-Scandic Hilton you need 30000 points / night, while for a great Scandic in the same city you need 10000 points and get the buffet breakfast as well. What could happen of course is that Hilton gets rid of the Scandics. I'm not sure they understand the local market well enough to run the Scandics profitably.