Adios Marriott - Hello Hilton!
 

Hello Everyone! I have gone from Marriott Platinum to Hilton Gold via status match. Gere are my comparing experiences after 90 days of intense travel!


Full Service Properties - On weekends Marriott made me feel like I was not elite. No perks, rarely an upgrade and no breakfast! Hilton - Even as a Gold always gave me breakfast or a lounge upgrade and Drink coupons AND bonus points! 1/2 the time I scored upgrades to larger rooms! No upgrades at all in my last 8 Marriott stays..on weekends!

Garden Inn > Courtyard
Hampton > Fairfield
Homewood = Residence however Full points is the tiebreaker!

Points program.. Now that I am using AA, Marriott points do not work too well. Travel Certificates are nice but the Hilton promos beat Marriott promos any day of the week! Also, I am finding the double dipping to add up quite nicely!

Service... I call Hilton elite line and with ease I can get someone on the phone. Type in my Honors number and seconds later I have help...EVERY time! As we speak I have been on hold 14 minutes with Marriott's so called Platinum line. This has become the norm. Marriott's automated system also makes me give all my info that the Rep asks for anyway. Annoyance in my opinion. Once on the phone Marriott seems to have a slight edge.

Beds - ALL Hilton properties beat the pants of Marriott!! Fairfield and Courtyard beds seem to be behind LaQuinta in comfort.

Well....these are just opinions and many may disagree but I am fed up with Marriott. I will be Diamond soon with Hilton yet as a Gold I already feel more valued. Marriott has the toughest requirements for Platinum yet seems to offer so little.

Interesting and helpful comparison. Thanks for qualifying it further by telling us you are basically not happy with Marriott.

I like Marriott beds, but I don't have a full basis of comparison for the customer service aspect. Sounds like Hilton is treating you better overall.

Well...IMO... in asia, its the opposite of the US. Even courtyards have EL lounges that are open on weekends. And usually on the 2nd visit to the same Mrt property the upgrades happen.
-actually SPG is my second choice, & HH is my 3rd.

You should have done the instant Gold + fast track to Diamond. If you have traveled intensively for 90 days, you should have been Diamond long time ago.

AA double dip is by far not the best option. You should double dip with VS or BD.

The Hilton Diamond line does answer fast and is not closed every single time I try to reach them like Marriott's "platinum" line. I do prefer, however, just simply email the Hilton's Diamond desk and usually have a reply within couple of hours. Yes. Hours!


There is no lifetime option with Hilton like there is with Marriott, Hyatt, and Starwood. Hilton has a premium room reward scam where an award room can cost hundreds of thousands of points. Hilton has Points & Money awards that can make sense at times. I like the ability to "force" an award room at a sold out Hilton hotel at regular point rate.

I "work" all the hotel programs and promotions. When Hilton has a non-exciting promo they won't get any of my stays and vice versa.

The only thing I don't like about Hilton Honors is the fact their points expire. While Marriott Rewards points are supposed to expire if their is no activity in 24 months, I have never heard about anyone losing their MR points due to inactivity.

Regards,

RIP...

My upgrade experiences at HH and MR have always been similar. That is, suites are rare. Both brands seem to try to put their elites in "good" rooms - high floor, good view, corner room, whatever. But neither one come close to Starwood in terms of true 1-bedroom suite upgrades. The one advantage I give to Marriott here is that elites are guaranteed their preferred bed type.

If you're really a 90-day "intense" traveler (whatever that is), I probably wouldn't double-dip at HH at all unless that's a bunch of 1-nighters. I'd probably go Points + Variable Points and forget about miles. I'm a Gold...soon to be Diamond on CC spend...I think that would end up being 29(?) total points per dollar.

My take on total rewards per paid dollar spent: Marriott probably still has the edge in raw value. Looking at Plat vs. Diamond, I'd probably put 20 Marriott points at a value of 25-26 cents and 29 HHonors points at a value of around 20 cents. (1.25-1.3 cpp vs. 0.7 cpp) People will point out that you *can* do better with HH, but it's getting harder and harder with all of the specialty room awards for rooms that aren't in the slightest bit special.

But...HH has an edge in utility in that I can use their points at resorts and on any day of the week without a loss in value. If I have to hold my MR points for 2-3 years until my next weeklong international city hotel vacation, I'm at risk of the next devaluation.

I'm almost positive that a single CC charge can keep an HH account active. They have at least one no-fee card, maybe two, plus the fee card that you'd likely get if you become a frequent HH guest.

In practice, I have to wonder how good the Diamond Force is. Do they make a paid room available or an award room? I've had limited success with the Marriott Platinum guarantee.

You can force even an award room when the hotel is sold out as long as it is not on the list of 10 or so hotels where this benefit doesn't apply. I have done it several times. This benefits was watered down last year when they introduced Premium Room Rewards. It used to be that Hilton Diamond members could use the "force" for award rooms even when the hotel was not sold out.

Also if the hotel is oversold by more than 10% or by 2% (smaller number of hotels) the benefit doesn't apply.

I didn't quote your whole message, but as a current Gold (have been Diamond off and on) in HH and current Platinum in MR, I think you overstated the HH benefits a bit.

You failed to mention that HH has their "My Way" on-property benefits where as a Gold, you choose whether you want, for example, breakfast or points, not both.

I also disagree with your experience with the respective property's telephone CSRs. I find the MR group to be slightly ahead of the HH group (even when I was Diamond). Neither were really horrible.

HH has more points earning opportunities but when you go to redeem, you will find the equivalent HH property requires more points than the MR property. The new HH "premium awards" are outrageously expensive.

The "Diamond Force" used to be a really great feature and could be used for award stays. I actually used it once but it required that reservations ask the hotel directly and the reply took several days. As mentioned earlier, this has been watered down by the "premium awards". For paid stays, the Diamond Force works pretty much like MR's Platinum Guarantee - in that there are no guarantees.:mad:

Both programs have their advantages and disadvantages, as do their respective properties. If HH meets your personal needs better then go for it. These are marketing programs to steer your business. No program is perfect.

Yes. Hilton has nice products, but I'll normally still stay at Marriotts more often than Hiltons. PriorityClub and Wyndham suit me well too in locations where Marriott isn't.
Fairfields routinely have windows that you can open. I sleep better with them open. Marriott windows can open too if you can get a room with balconies.
Hamptons & HGI. I've never been able to open the windows there. Of course, I like resorts like Doubletree for vacations.
very odd. I get weekend breakfasts at Marriotts and I'm only Marriott gold status. Courtyards on the other hand, no. Is there a Hilton status match for Marriott gold?

Except that the OP said that he has been receiving breakfast AND bonus points at Hilton--that is my experience as well. My profile says bonus points, and I receive both.

Are most of your stays outside North America? I've found that most Marriotts elsewhere in the world have a weekend lounge or some sort of Gold/Plat breakfast. If you get this in the U.S. or Canada, it's an exception rather than the rule.

Check the HH board for the latest information: there is almost always an easy (if not instant) path to HH Gold available.

You're right. I just read the Master Thread. My North America stays haven't been on weekends except my next one at Calgary and LAX. bummer. coupons for breakfast heh?

I feel like the other programs have been very aggressive, and Marriott hasn't really matched. Also Priority Club and Wyndham have done some serious upgrading to many of their properties, especially in the bedding. Combine this with their promotions for bonus points and they both become contenders.

One huge benefit Hilton used to have was the joint account, where your spouse could share your account, pooling points and status. My wife was very impressed with Diamond status for her occasional business trip.

Hotel quality at chains vary around the country, sometimes it is a good thing to look around and see if there is something better with the competition. Matching status, if only for a short period is brilliant on the part of the hotels, as it doesn't cost them anything, unless they dilute the status too much and their top tier members notice.

Could you share with us the locations of your 90 days of intense travel? Your experiences might be more of a regional nature.

If it works better for you, then that's where you should stay.

I was HH Diamond for a few years and am glad I left. I have better property coverage with Marriott, and the ratio of earned award nights to paid $$/nights is much, much better in my analysis.

I call the MR line maybe twice a year and never remember being on hold. I called two weeks ago to switch a points award to a just-earned certificate award at a sold-out hotel and it was done in about 3 minutes. I've had challenges with that type of a swap with other programs in the past.

I'm also down to <50 nights from LT status, which doesn't currently exist with HH.

So I'm staying with MR. Thanks for freeing up the upgrade and award availability.