We have both IHG and Marriott. I will say having multiple reward programs for even moderate travelers like us makes a lot of sense.

For us, we use IHG for overnight stays after late nights at the theater and such (typically HI and HIX) and for upscale stays in the off season in New Orleans and Chicago.(Typically IC, Kimpton and Indigo). Buying points at half price makes these stays a great deal. Adding in our 10% Select rebate and the four nights for three (when applicable) makes these stays true bargains.

We like Marriott for when we pay for stays typically, although we have some plans for the points we are accumulating. We like the perks of Platinum with Marriott such as lounge access, breakfast and late checkout.

Also, this means we have options in most places that we want to visit.

Having their respective credit cards for perks, more points, free nights and better treatment really works great for us. I can’t and won’t recommend this combination to everyone but if you are considering two programs this combination is worth a look.

This is a very interesting thread. I managed to hit Bonvoy Titanium every year in the last 4 years. I don't fly United (United silver does not matter to me). I had only 2 stays at Ritz in my over 600 nights (upgrades were nice but no breakfast is annoying). I travel mainly in Europe or Asia. I like three things (i) very good free breakfast buffet (ii) complimentary upgrades and (iii) late checkouts at 4PM were quite helpful as well on several stays. Most of stays are own pocket payment: I typically do privately 25-40 nights (redeemed or paid per anno) + some double nights promotions + CC nights + very few business nights (max 5). As I pay for my travel, I prefer to spend below EUR 200 / USD230 per night incl. breakfast. Marriott started moving upwards of this price range recently (notably 2024 I see massive price / points inflationary pressure in Europe).

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the two options:
a) should I pursue yearly Titanium renewals and obtaining 40k voucher (let's say value of >$250 + some extra points = >$300) or
b) just be happy with my LT Bonvoy Platinum level and try to diversify to another program e.g. IHG (Ambassador Platinum is possible) or Hilton (have CC Gold now, maybe can get Platinum with the CC). I have very many IHG points from my prior heavy business travel (I was a RA back then), but what annoys me that (i) the breakfast is included only at HIX on award stays (ii) that award stays are not always available and (iii) award nights do not count for qualification, so I can not help with status by redeeming my points. And I can not get IHG Chase Credit card at the moment (non US based). No lifetime status at IHG is bothering me a bit as well, but not critical.
c) Is there any other option, I should think about?

C. I think Hyatt Globalist is great and a good complement to Marriott/Hilton. I get the best elite treatment from the former and still get to enjoy perks and the bigger footprint of Marriott. If not Hyatt, I would search another smaller or niche program to get status with. IHG and Hilton are just too similar to Marriott and it seems like a waste to qualify for those every year when you already have LTP. Just IMHO though.

I am assuming "very many" is "enough to be the difference between chasing Titanium status and just staying LTP for a year or more." Say, you can fund a sample size of 5-10 stays (10-15 nights) where you can look at some prospective IHG hotels in the class/price of hotel you like to stay in.

Burn the very many points before pursuing another chain's status, pay cash for breakfast or some lounge access at Intercontinentals while doing so (and presumably less than what you are paying Marriott for hotel rooms that give you a very mild chsnge in status from LTP to Titanium). Use the money you save for other things. You won't have status but you'll be saving money and evaluating the hotels you stay at.

(Also you can pay $225 USD for Intercontinental Ambassador/IHG Platinum if you want to have status as part of this exercise, Won't be as good as Marriott LTP but it won't be nothing, also comes with a 241 weekend certificate good at Intercontinentals and Kimptons.)

Once you've burned your IHG stash down sufficiently to whatever you think is a suitable number and you've gotten a good feel for what IHG hotels are like in your chosen locations, re-evaluate whether you need additional status and if IHG is going to work. You can probably use that time where you are burning points + paying cash for anicllaries to evaluate if the juice of chasing IHG status is worth the squeeze of staying with IHG. Consider it a free trial without having to invest as much money as chasing Hyatt/etc. status.

As I started this thread and will post something more comprehensive a bit later on my thoughts comparing the two programmes when I've more definitive experience of IHG brands and qualification but I though I'd just point out something interesting given the current discussion.

We have a new HIX opened in Portugal in Evora and I'm staying there next weekend for two nights. This will cost me €250 for the two nights including the free breakfast (scrambled eggs!) and 5000 additional status points each night which means I'll get about 6000 qualifying points a night and it means I could stay at this hotel for 20 nights and qualify as Diamond with 120,000 points for €2500.

I admit this is an academic exercise as Evora is hardly somewhere to stay for 20 nights but it illustrates the flexibility of the IHG nights (70) or points (120,000) system to reach the top tier Diamond status level which is quite attractive. I will be at 40 nights (the target to get two years of lounge access in hotels that serve actual Champagne in the lounges) and 120,000 qualifying points by the end of October to reach Diamond to get breakfast and be spending anecdotally less per night than Bonvoy equivalent hotels to get there. Food, or Champagne, for thought.

I also like the hix a lot more than FFI. In the last trip I stayed at BW, IHG, Hilton and Marriott. The Home2 suites and Tru are the best, followed by the hix (upgraded as platinum), Marriott and the BW (got an upgrade as diamond select and the rate was less than half of what Marriott and others asked for). It was an older motel but it is well-kept.

Marriott has really slipped especially in the past year or 2. Once Mr. hits LTP we will be free agents.

Very helpful response, much appreciated. I will need to double check, but the balance is definitely way over 700,000 IHG points. I was thinking of start using them, maybe rather for aspirational properties e.g., Fiji etc. but things developed as follows:
1. Availability at Fiji or at the few existing very nice ICs was very limited and the dynamic pricing was introduced in the meantime... -> heavily reducing the number of good redemptions. I am "OK" to wait very long term for a great redemption option maximizing the value of each IHG point above $0.5c (around 2006-2010 it was much easier, but still this is a "points game"). I also remember being RA so a stay at IC without status or "just" as basic Ambassador creates a feeling of wasting value a little bit.
2. If one day I find a way to get the Chase CC, I could realistically save approx. 20-25% on that points balance.
3. Bonvoy Titanium status was earned, so I was a bit hesitant to stop staying at Marriott -> kind of weird feeling of not using the benefits and getting extra points from being Titanium (to be fair LT Platinum was earned only last year that was also the objective to push borderline value nights into the Marriott chain).

However, when I book a (Marriott) hotel I compare cash price including breakfast (incl. in the rate of elite benefit) less something I call "bonvoy points discount" (+ non-monetary topics: potential upgrade kicker, existence of a lounge, late check-out needed or not) vs. IHG redemption option at 0.5 cents per point (in my view consistently long term value of them) + breakfast costs. Up until this year, Marriott was a better value, but they are starting being greedy in terms of pricing.

I have been increasingly disappointed with Bonvoy over the past 18-24 months, with minimal to non-existent upgrades and packed lounges with mediocre offerings. IMO, there are just too many elites. I know some people get excellent upgrades by reaching out to management ahead of the stay or making a ruckus at check-in, but I hate playing those games, so often end up with high floor or similar non-upgrades. I used to be a huge fan of Marriott's BRG, with hundreds of successful claims over the years. It is still the most honest BRG out there, but has become much tougher. And some points requirements are just insane, Sheraton HK or Marriott Hamburg at 64k/night. Similarly, there's not a lot of excitement on the earn side. That said, I'm LTT, so the decision to have fewer Bonvoy stays is an easy one. I will stay at Bonvoy hotels I like or if I can get a reasonable BRG or the points rate is fair. But Marriott has become my third program.

My first program, IHG Diamond with Lounge Pass has been a delight in the last year and a half. First of all, there have been some spectacular points deals (see, for instance, my posts here, here or here) over the past years. Lounges at ICs and Regent are generally far ahead of those at Bonvoy properties (often serving champange and high quality foods), most hotels make an effort to upgrade (often to junior suites or better, far eclipsing what I get at Bonvoy hotels), and breakfast benefits are generous. Of course, IHG Platinum is worth nothing, but Diamond is great, and the Lounge Pass makes it even better.

Finally, I'm Hyatt Globalist, which is great in terms of upgrades, lounges are generally better than Bonvoy (although behind IC and Regent), and breakfast isn't an issue. Hyatt has some resonable redemptions, but revenue rates are generally higher than Bonvoy and IHG. And the Hyatt BRG is a scam.

The biggest problem with Hyatt is the limited footprint, with dozens of desirable locations in Europe and Asia having no or poor coverage. This also applies to IHG to some extent -- while Regent and many ICs and Kimptons are very good, and there are a number of good Indigos, Voco, and CP, in many locations you may find that IHG only has older CP/HI or HIX/whatever (which don't really do the trick for me), while Bonvoy has better hotels.

I realize this isn't a super helpful answer for you, because I can simply fall back onto LTT with Bonvoy so don't have to make an effort to requalify, and I also have more nights annually than you do, so it's easy for me to cover three programs. That said, IF the IHG footprint works for you and you can make it to Lounge Pass (40 nights) and Diamond (70 nights, but occasional promos that make it a little easier), that'd be my recommendation. Note that for Diamond or LP holders, the following are incorrect (emphasis mine). For Diamonds, breakfast is available at all brands, and regardless of status, award nights count for status qualification.

No way I can make 70 nights a year to obtain the Diamond Elite status, but I saw a second route with points highlighted earlier in this thread.
Thanks for highlighting the award nights treatment towards the status, I got it incorrectly. Happy to hear I was wrong here.
Still there was something else totally different to other main hotel chains with award stays at IHG, maybe not all elite benefits apply for Ambassador (maybe no guaranteed upgrade), unless it was changed in the last couple of years.

To accelerate your path to IHG Diamond, you can purchase bonus points (elite qualifying) at some hotels. Prices vary, with very generally speaking high priced cities like London or Tokyo being rather pricey (e.g., $50-ish for 5000 points) and off-the-beaten path places like small-town Japan being great deals (e.g., $20-ish for 5000 points). There are also targeted offers: In 2023, several of those who were close to renewing Diamond were offered an option to purchase elite qualifying points outright, and right now, there's a stay 10 night, get Diamond offer. For those choosing the night route, there are occasional double elite credit offers. Much of this is targeted and shouldn't taken for granted, and I think you should generally expect to spend a decent chunk of nights at IHG to get these offers.

Your memory is correct about PriorityClub/IHG: They didn't guarantee benefits on awards. Some hotels granted them, but others didn't. Now, you get upgrades (based on availability), breakfast, lounge access with Lounge Pass.

For me the IHG was my first Chain, they work very well for me. Get more point and the redemption point are less. In simple word more cheaper for me.
also the rate in most of city that I visit are more cheaper then Bonvoy hotels.

in the last two years my trips was in city / country where don’t have IHG hotels but have Bonvoy hotels where I reach Titanium Elite.
i tested for to year the Bonvoy hotel and benefits but I prefer IHG.

Also, I reach the IC Royal Ambassador that was good experience for me.

At the end this depend of the city / county that you visit, where can get better experience/ easy to reach.

Just exchanged my IHG Platinum welcome drink vouchers for a couple decent pours of champers at Indigo Tokyo Shibuya.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a7f124a47d.jpg
I'd say the chances of a Bonvoy Gold being granted the same hover somewhere slightly between zero and f-all.

Champagne. I'm looking forward to this at my IHGs in 2025. Due to a miscalculation on my part for my last four-night stay, I'm now ~1500 points away from 120,000 points which I'll secure by doing a sub-€100 night at one of the HIXs within walking distance in Lisbon and making a restaurant reservation through IHG at the restaurant at the end of my road which we were going to try anyway. It was all going so well with a four-night stay at an Iberostar projected to take me to both 40 nights (for two years of lounge pass from January) and 120,000 points (for Diamond breakfasts through 2025). But the it came up a tiny bit short when the stay actually posted.

No matter, I'm collecting my thoughts on the programme differences and will make a comprehensive comparison in Q1 after I've tried Champagne in a few Intercontinental lounges. 2025 will be the year of IHG for fun as I've nothing to lose by doing so.

I mean, be realistic.

You got a couple of likes from IHG fanbois for this but the chance of this happening to you as a IHG Plat are next to nil, too.

The good thing about IHG is if you make it to 40 nights and the lounge milestone which is quite useful at IC's, many of which have lounges far superior to your typical Marriott/Sheraton/Hilton/Hyatt Regency lounge.

Other than that, Plat with IHG isn't going to do much for you which makes it fairly similar to Bonvoy Gold.

Being realistic… Welcome drinks for 2 are a published benefit of IHG Plat. Of course it’s up to the hotel’s discretion of what they will offer as part of that. But I’ve stayed in hotels ranging from where they had a specific list to choose from… to where they said any regular cocktail or glass of wine (which included sparkling) was fine.

Keep in mind that drink vouchers are also one of the welcome amenities available to IHG Diamonds.