so, here's my deal. i'm HH Gold, and i complete the bare minimum of HH stays for GLD a year. i squeak by repeatedly with the greatest of ease.

i've gotten sick of Hilton, plain and simple. i find the low-scale options in SPG to be pathetic, and i hear good things of the Marriott sorts.

so sell me a bit, and do be so kind as to answer a couple of questions...

1.i have a FirstUSA credit card with a different program; has anyone changed a FUSA card from another sort of program to Marriott? that would at least give me silver.

2.i have 45,000 Amex MR points. is this gonna give me anything relating to a decent head start in the Marriott program?

3.What are the top points that you'd give someone looking for a change, and what are the caveats you'd honestly give a potential switcher?

thanks heaps.

Personally if I had to switch, I would switch to SPG at this point. Marriott of late does not seem to care for its loyal members. With SPG gold, you should get junior suites upgrades every now and then and they actually have promotions. They give a 500 point online booking bonus. Lately, Marriott has had no promotions. They did have a free weekends one, but I could care less for one of those. Who wants to spend another night at a hotel when you spend almsot 200 a year already? What you will get with Marriott is consistensy. But after a while this gets really old. In regards to the FUSA card, I switched my UA FUSA card to MR. They did it with no problem. But you would not get the 10K point sign-up bonus that way. So if you want that, then apply for a MR FUSA card and cancel the other or maybe you can sweet-talk a customer service agent into giving you the points for the switch. A big advantage with Marriott is that there are almost everwhere. From high-end properties to the likes of Fairfield Inns off freeways. Maybe I am biased because I switched from Marriott to SPG myself.

Here's my take on your situation.

The big advantages to Marriott are widespread availability and consistency of product.

The biggest downsides are the difficulty of obtaining mid/top tier status and what some on FT interpret as a 'lack of flash' It takes 50 or 75 nights to attain status that means anything. Additionally, Marriott doesn't have anything like Starwood's 'Free Fridays' or no blackouts anywhere, anytime. It also does not have anything similar to HHonors' where at least once annually there is some type of 4 stays = Gold + 50K Points promo. For the level of stays that you have, you would be Silver with Marriott. Marriott also give this status level for just having a MR Visa card. As a Silver, you don't really receive much in the way of benefits.

My suggestion: if most of your travel takes you to cities with a population of 40K or more, change to Starwood. It is FT's hotel program of choice due to it's easy requirement (20 stays) to reach top tier. You could still maintain HH Gold status through annual promotions. If most of your travel is to smaller towns, then stick to Hilton.

As to your Amex points, I would not transfer them to Marriott unless I was cashing my points for one of the vacation packages that include airline miles. They would be better used with HHonors (Transfer the points to DL and then on to HH 1MR point = 1 DL mile = 2 HH points) which would yield 90K HH points if you wash them through DL .

I'm probably one of the minority here - while I like receiving points and bonuses for stays, they are just that - bonuses. My first concern is a quality room in a good location. I have always gotten that from Marriott, less so from Hilton and much less so from Sheraton (SPG) whom I usually avoid. For that reason I've been loyal to Marriott for over 20 years. BillMorrow summed it up perfectly:
It's true - Marriott Rewards just isn't that rewarding. It all depends what you're looking for.

My 2 cents.

Marriott is the one program that I collect airline miles versus the program's points. If you barely maintain HH gold, you will not accumulate enough Marriott points to be worth much.

I have all but switched. The only thing I regret is missing the extra bonus points this summer at SPG. The only thing I have to show is 2 free Category 4 weekend nights. Not enough to keep my business. Here's how to switch to SPG. Marriott loses big since I'm also a meeting planner.

Starwood Preferred Guest does offer a match in status as a one-time-only exception to our Terms and Conditions of Membership to top tier status-holders at Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott. In order to apply for
this exception, please fax the following information to the attention of Platinum
Concierge at 1-512-836-4002.

1) a written request for the exception to be made based upon your Platinum status with Marriott Rewards

2) a copy (front and back) of your Marriott Rewards Platinum membership
card

3) a copy of your latest statement from Marriott Rewards (online version is
fine)

4) your current Starwood Preferred Guest account number, if you have one

5) if you are not currently a Starwood Preferred Guest, the following enrollment information:

A. Name
B. Address (Home or Business preference?)
C. Home and/or business phone numbers
D. Date of birth
E. Mother's maiden name (to be used as password)
F. Email address

Once Platinum Concierge receives your fax, they will verify your status with
Marriott Rewards and contact you, if you request it, once they have reached
their decision.

Best of luck to you. I hope to soon welcome you as our newest Platinum
elite
member.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Specialist, E-Communications Department
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I completely agree with Bill, but will go farther. At the risk of upsetting some of the folks in Salt Lake City and Bethesda, Marriott is like the McDonald's of the hotel industry. You can generally find a Marriott property nearby, and if you're a frequent guest, you already have a good idea of what you will receive when you stay at one. Same goes for Mickey D's. You can generally find one, and when you order a Big Mac, you know what you're going to get, whether you're in Seattle, El Paso or Boston.

Chains like Hilton, Starwood and Hyatt might be more flashy than Marriott, but consistency can be a problem, costs can be high (one reason I have curtailed my Hyatt stays), and availability is not always assured.

As for me, just give me good availability, high consistency and a good price, and I'm your customer.