I'm in the same boat. I have been a Hilton Diamond for a few years now and for reasons mentioned in other posts, the Hilton's have priced me out of the running for business travel. Marriott seems to have so many more state rates without having to call and B-E-G the rev. manager, sometimes it works and more often it does not, right on line. So, out of necessity, I have had to choose an alternative hotel chain to obtain/receive points.

Some of my observations:

Internet: Basically I see no difference. I take my laptop all of the time and for the FS Hilton/Marriotts, there is a charge, which I have to "eat" because the State of California is not going to be this for us. The Homewood, Hilton Garden Inns and Hampton typically have this free, as do some of the Marriott properties. But the FS ones, they both charge. I share none of the problems or issues with logging on that the first poster raised. Maybe I don't get it, but the last six or so hotels just let me open up my web brower and I was on...no code, no special log in, no room numbers, just automatically get logged onto the website. Maybe I don't "get" what the actual problem was, but if the internet access is free, I'm a happy camper, even if I do have to enter in a code.

Status: I can tell you that I will probably never be able to make Plat w/Marriott. I have been Diamond for a number of years with Hilton and can maintain that with a little determination, but it is doubtful that since Marriott only acknowledges nights, I will never get Plat. If Marriott had "stays" as Hilton does, I may be able to get Marriott's Plat, but they don't so I won't.

Louge Access: As I understand it, you can pretty much forget about access to Marriott's lounges out of the United States with being just a Gold Marriott. Since I really only care about the lounge access when traveling with my husband, it is out of the country that this perk is important. Since it is unlikely that I will ever achieve this status, I don't have a lot of incentive to travel to Marriott's out of the country because we wouldn't receive the access. Hilton properties have followed suit for properties out of the country--allowing only Diamonds lounge access, although in many, many cases, Golds are and have been permitted access as well. In the states, you are pretty much treated the same, be it Diamond or Gold with Hilton.

Acknowledgment: This is just not a big deal for me. I don't care whether or not someone acknowledges me for being a "card" holder or not. Just like the treat. Unless they are sending up a bottle of wine, the silly little waters and/or cookies, I could do without. I always have plenty of water with me and the tiny little bottles they provide (or don't provide) mean nothing to me.

Points/Awards: What I do like about the Hiltons is that I know exactly what I need for an award. I know that if the property is a level six, I can get six nights for 175k points because I am Diamond (or Gold) and six nights for 150k points for a level five or less. If you are not a Gold, you would have to pay 240k for level six for the same award, or 210k for level five or less, if you silver/blue. Just a nice added perk for Gold/Diamonds. I can't seem to determine whether or not having Gold or Plat gives you a similiar edge with the awards as the Hilton does, simply because I am still learning my way around the Marriott rules. I can't find it anywhere on the website though....but the "new and improved" Hilton website isn't so hot either. Bottom line, I have no clue if you have to "pay" the same amount of points for an award for a week in the Marriott if you have status or not like you do if you have status with Hilton.

Earning Points: It seems like I can earn a heck of a lot more points at the Hilton than I can at the Marriott. One of my first stays at the Marriott was a big lesson! I entered my stupid Southwest Airlines Award number in my account for the Marriott, having NO CLUE they didn't double dip, and ended getting a lousy .5 credit and forfeiting ALL of my points because you have to choose one or the other. Also, if you choose NOT to double dip, you get 50% more points. Also, if you are Diamond, you get another 50% points. I can't get either of these for Marriott because 1) they don't Double Dip and therefore I can't choose not to and 2) I can't get to Plat so I will only ever be able to get 25% bonus on points.

Learning the new program has been the most frustrating. But most of my upcoming stays are with the Marriott, so I am learning as I go along.

Dawn