Last month, I did an award RTW trip, staying at both SPG and Hilton hotels in USA, Australia and UK. I am SPG Gold and Hilton Gold, FYI... From my perspective and experience, I can draw 2 conclusions:

- SPG has better hotels than Hilton hotels (more upscale, better quality)
- Hilton treated their Golds better than SPG treated their Golds (almost always upgrade at Hiltons, hardly any at SPGs)

Overall, SPG Gold is at a lower level than Hilton Gold, and it show up in terms of # of nights necessary to gain the "Gold" level (10 nights to become SPG Gold, 16 nights to become Hilton Gold). Granted, there are fewer SPG hotels than Hilton hotels, but the SPG hotels tend to be better than Hilton hotels in terms of quality. So it's kind of a wash.... I love both chains, for different reasons.

I am going to let my SPG Gold lapse because there is almost no difference between SPG Gold and SPG Corporate (which I already have by virture of SPG Amex) and try to remain Gold with Hilton. If I want to stay at SPG, I'll pay extra for the better rooms if I want them. With Hilton, I just hope my Hilton status will let me upgrade.