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Originally Posted by Mister Nice
(Post 30637029)
i think this is an important point . The time we spend on following up on things that fall through the cracks has real value , be it monetary or other . |
After August I move my stays to Hilton and Hyatt, and I am positively surprised by the number of upgrades to the suites at Hilton (I'm Diamond) and breakfast is stabill in brands.
Hilton definitely improved how he treats his guests. |
Originally Posted by Mister Nice
(Post 30637029)
i think this is an important point . The time we spend on following up on things that fall through the cracks has real value , be it monetary or other . |
Originally Posted by vishalgupta22
(Post 30636853)
I also agree with Marriott points / stays not posting currently after the merger. I haven't had a stay where I did not have to spend significant amount of time getting the stay / points posted correctly.
The flow has been like:
Then another stay, again 10 days later, I contacted the hotel. Points are still messed up. I am going to wait the 7 days they said it might take to fix (doubt it will be fixed). Is anyone getting compensation for this hassle? Like seriously, how hard is it to get the nights/points right? Especially points that should be 10 per US $ spent... I think they are outsourcing this part of the work and those people can't do math, or use XE.com to do exchange rates properly. |
Like you I’m in the U.K. I was in a similar position to you 10 years ago, I had some experience of Hilton and of Marriott. I found prices were similar and Marriotts properties to be in better condition than Hilton’s. Marriotts points accumulated at a Lower rate than Hilton’s but redeemed at lower rates. Overall the earn and burn on points seemed similar. I went with Marriott and am now Lifetime Plat. If I’d chosen Hilton I’d be only halfway to lifetime Diamond, a status any American can get by holding Hiltons Premium credit card - and get 14 points per $ too! But we don’t get that here. Today Hilton points are worth about half Marriotts, and that’s assuming you can get a regular room, otherwise Hilton redemption rates are crazy-mad. Luckily being in Europe does mean that it is easier to find standard room redemptions than in America. Here in the U.K. the accumulation rate is similar between the two, Marriott PP is 17.5 per $ plus 6 points per £ using the British SPG AMEX. That is 30 points per £. Hilton is 20 per $ but their anaemic U.K. credit card only pays 3 per £, so ends up at 30 per £ as well. Hilton’s promos aren’t any better than Marriotts now. Both get room upgrades, both get free breakfasts at full service, both get lounge access. The only advantage Hilton has is the 10,000 bonus points on staying 40, 50, 60 and 70 paid nights. Even so, Hilton just can’t catch up with Marriott earn and burn rates here in the UK. One advantage Hilton had was slightly more properties than Marriott but with the SPG purchase Marriott now numbers 100 hotels here and has recently signed up a significant owner of U.K. properties which are being rebranded to Delta adding another 20. By the end if this year Marriott will number 120 U.K. properties meaning it’s ferry easy to find a place to stay and accumulate those nights. Here in the UK, the advantage very much lies with Marriott. |
The assumption on FlyerTalk seems to be that everything offered by frequent guest elite programs are desirable to everyone who travels. Although true for the majority, it's not true to all. Examples:
My overall point is that every traveler is a little different. Take a few minutes to decide which elite-level benefits are important to you. If you can eliminate a benefit as irrelevant, that might help determine which hotel group is the best fit. Note: I'm not knocking anyone who finds value in any of my bulleted items. They just don't matter much to me. |
OP, it's difficult to define which hotel portfolio is better to focus your stays, status, and points with. It's always which is better for what. And many times, "for what?" comes down to the specifics of where you travel and what you prioritize.
For example, at a previous job the company HQ was within a block of 2 Hilton properties. Most of my remote colleagues became Hilton loyalists because it was so convenient when visiting HQ. They figured Hilton and Marriott were basically equal everywhere else they traveled so they went all-in with Hilton. Meanwhile I chose Marriott. The Hiltons near HQ did nothing for me (I was local) and in 3 locations I traveled repeatedly I deemed the Marriott offerings noticeably better than Hilton's. |
If you choose Marriott I suggest do the platinum challenge. If your bookings are being paid for and you dont have to pay for breakfast out of pocket go for Marriott. If you pay for breakfast go for the program that gives you breakfast as an amenity which at 30 nights wont be Marriott. Upgrades are really more important if you are on holiday and related more to time of year and where you holiday.
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I think it depends on what your goals are and where you stay. If you stay in predominantly mid-tier brands I’d say the Hilton experience offers more with properties like HGI, Hampton Inn, and DoubleTree having more consistent value than 4 Points, Courtyard, etc. If you stay predominantly in full service brands I’d say that Marriott is a better way to go, Marriott Marquis, Sheraton, and Westin hotels I find to be a cut above. I concur with others that Hilton points are incoherent and hard to understand. I also concur with everyone that Hyatt has the best hotels and hotel program, hands down. Sadly, their network is quite limited and it doesn’t fit into my usual staying needs. I keep a minimal status with them, just to maintain a relationship with them, but it will unlikely ever suit my service needs exclusively. |
Originally Posted by vishalgupta22
(Post 30636853)
I also agree with Marriott points / stays not posting currently after the merger. I haven't had a stay where I did not have to spend significant amount of time getting the stay / points posted correctly.
The flow has been like:
If the stay doesn't post or it posts incorrectly then you can email a named person at the hotel itself and ask them to fix it. I have 100% success rate with this approach and it's a lot easier than filling in a missing stay form on a web site and waiting for corporate to check it out, agree with you and fix it. For example, I only had one stay not post at a Design Hotel and after eight days (there's no excuse for a stay not posting within 48 hours) I wrote a nice email to the front desk thanking them for a great stay and asking them to ensure my stay posted. It appeared by magic within 24 hours. Similarly, I had Christmas Dinner at the W Bangkok and left with the blue points form in my wallet. I scanned it and emailed them this week because nothing had appeared and it was there the next morning. I think you're unlucky if you're having such a consistently bad experience with stays not posting but contacting the hotel itself directly will probably be less frustrating for you when trying to resolve. |
Originally Posted by Palty
(Post 30636486)
thanks everyone for your responses
i actually live in London and not in the US, hotels stays are actually everywhere from London to Europe the USA and Asia however much articles I've read about this topic still Marriott always come out (for me) the better option so i think i will stick with them for now. thanks guys |
Originally Posted by writerguyfl
(Post 30639066)
The assumption on FlyerTalk seems to be that everything offered by frequent guest elite programs are desirable to everyone who travels. Although true for the majority, it's not true to all.
At under 50 nights/yr, I'd probably be looking purely at the value of points and, IMO, Marriott beats Hilton there. I've slowly accumulated a lot of Hilton points and found that I never find a good way to spend them. |
Originally Posted by darthbimmer
(Post 30639086)
OP, it's difficult to define which hotel portfolio is better to focus your stays, status, and points with. It's always which is better for what. And many times, "for what?" comes down to the specifics of where you travel and what you prioritize.
For example, at a previous job the company HQ was within a block of 2 Hilton properties. Most of my remote colleagues became Hilton loyalists because it was so convenient when visiting HQ. They figured Hilton and Marriott were basically equal everywhere else they traveled so they went all-in with Hilton. Meanwhile I chose Marriott. The Hiltons near HQ did nothing for me (I was local) and in 3 locations I traveled repeatedly I deemed the Marriott offerings noticeably better than Hilton's. I used to be Hilton and moved to Marriott about 3 years back. Why? Upgrades. I have about 60 nights of work travel and about 15 nights of vacation nights a year. For work travel, all I care about is breakfast. I can expense even if it's not free but I try to save my employer some money (where I reasonably can). For personal travel (myself, spouse and our 6 year old), I care a lot about upgrades, breakfast and lounge access. Don't care much about restaurant breakfast. I moved to Marriott coz upgrades became super rare (tried, Australiz, US, Europe and Asia). Most of the times I was told I have been upgraded but most of the time I couldn't even find the difference. Wit Marriott, I am getting upgraded almost every time in Asia. Haven't taken a domestic (US) vacation in last 2 years, but have some coming up this year, so let's see. |
One simple perspective: the opportunity often lies where everyone else isn't. Whether that be in stocks, real estate, or hotel loyalty programs. The asset that everyone is in is likely overvalued. Now that everyone is in Marriott, it could be time to go elsewhere - the other programs are likely undervalued and may well be working harder. Just a thought.
Personally, I've been a Hilton guy forever and am doing 50/50 with MR (top tier at both). My two cents based on experience is that Marriott is overhyped and Hilton does just as much for its guests. |
Originally Posted by arlflyer
(Post 30641926)
One simple perspective: the opportunity often lies where everyone else isn't. Whether that be in stocks, real estate, or hotel loyalty programs. The asset that everyone is in is likely overvalued. Now that everyone is in Marriott, it could be time to go elsewhere - the other programs are likely undervalued and may well be working harder. Just a thought.
Personally, I've been a Hilton guy forever and am doing 50/50 with MR (top tier at both). My two cents based on experience is that Marriott is overhyped and Hilton does just as much for its guests. |
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