Thanks, sdsearch. Differentiating between how you get free nights and how you get upgrades is helpful. I run a small high-end consulting firm, which means that our clients pay for our stays at nice hotels. But, when I vacation with my family, I tend to go toward lower end properties some of the time, though in fact I have only redeemed hotel points once in 20 years at a Hilton in Paris for an anniversary trip with my wife. I get emails now from PC and from Choice as well as SPG (I think), but in the past have ignored them. I'll start looking.

To get upgraded, I'd have to choose loyalty over shorter travel time in the mornings. that is a tough one.