If you travel widely, give Hilton four stays and see if you like them. That will net you 54,000 HH points in bonuses alone, plus they will give you Gold Status. (Gold is not super-elite because they give it to anybody, but it gets you an occasional upgrade and free breakfasts in some places.)

HH can get you to 100,000 points quickly with a few stays, which translates into 6 nights in almost any property in the world. (I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but not many.) That's *probably* your fastest way to a big award. I have no input to give on availability of awards other than the fact that I got my desired Hawaii dates with a 9-month advance booking on a 100K award.

Marriott seems to me to be the slowest way to earn a big award. I have accumulated about 150,000 points through the years, and never redeemed once. That's because MR delivers a LOT less bang-for-the-point at low levels. At the 250-300K range, you get into some very nice rewards that include 100,000 FF miles. Bonuses are tighter and MR doesn't give their mid- and high-elite levels away for nothing. A hardcore business traveler probably likes Marriott more than I do for these reasons.

One upside to MR and HH is that they have a good range of properties, from roadside motels (for college football weekends, of course!) to five-star resorts.

I have little experience with Hyatt and Starwood because the don't have properties everywhere I go. I have heard good things about both chains, and stayed in a nice Hyatt and a nice Westin from time to time. I just don't use them enough to become active in their programs.