I do agree that the easiest program to accumulate points in is HHonors, and the hardest (without hotel stays) is probably Hyatt.

However, I think you might reconsider which credit card(s) you use to augment the points you accumulate from paid hotel stays.

Unfortunately, the Marriott Visa is the worst card for accumulating hotel points. You get only 1 MR point per dollar, but MR points are given out at 10 per dollar at the full service Marriott brands. Even with the 2 point bonus per dollar for a total of 3 per dollar on Marriott charges, its barely worth it, since 1 MR point is worth much less than one airline mile or one SPG point. (You might get it just for the sign-up bonus and the free first year, but don't use it too often, and cancel it before they charge you the annual fee. I have one, and just use it for elegible Marriott charges that give me 3 points per dollar.

So, I think you should consider one of the Hilton branded cards or the Starwood Amex. I know that there are 2 Hilton cards, and the Hilton folks should be able to summarize the pros and cons of each one.

Between HHonors and SPG, just to throw out a contrary opinion to almost everybody else answering you in this thread, Starpoints are the better currency, IMHO. In any event, either of them are better than accumulating Marriott Rewards points via there co-branded Visa card. Starpoints can be converted to most airline miles at the rate of 20k starpoints : 25k airline miles, so even if used for accumulating air miles, the SPG card is better than most airline branded cards because of the 5k bonus when transferring 20k SPG points at a time. Personally, I think the SPG points are more valuable for hotel awards.

-David


[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 10-26-2002).]