Thinking About Moving On From Marriott
 

I have been a HH user for a long time and a Marriott user for close to a decade. The last year or so, I have found myself staying less and less in their properties not due to bad service or bad hotels, but due to rewards.

First let me explain that I did not find their devalue as bad as some others like HH, in terms of overall value, but I did find it pretty rough on someone like me as a traveler. I use the Marriott Chase card, I am a Gold member, but will never get the stays (since it is my 2nd hotel chain of choice) to go higher and really am going to struggle in the future to stay gold unless I move some things around or force some trips that I might not have gone on.

The problem I am running into is that while I very much am fond of the chain, I find their rewards program lackluster. Too many points for mid to quality hotel stays without the crazy earning potential. In turn I have found myself with stays opening up veering towards SPG and even back to HH due to promotions, etc.

I started to price out Hyatt and took a deeper look at their program and it seems as though for less work on my part, I can get more benefits or similar benefits and the few times we have stayed at their lower end places (ironically named Place), we enjoyed it quite a bit as a stop over. So since I am already rambling enough, for those that have both programs, what are your thoughts on them? I am only going to keep one of the Chase cards.

Thanks and looking forward to the responses.

Spent the last 20 out of 25 at SPG b/c of the way Marriott treats Resort Properties. If you travel the Caribbean or Florida Marriott is not a good choice imho.

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I started to price out Hyatt and took a deeper look at their program and it seems as though for less work on my part, I can get more benefits or similar benefits and the few times we have stayed at their lower end places (ironically named Place), we enjoyed it quite a bit as a stop over. So since I am already rambling enough, for those that have both programs, what are your thoughts on them? I am only going to keep one of the Chase cards.
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Ultimately your loyalty should be to yourself. If you can get more for less at Hyatt, then certainly consider switching to the Hyatt program if Marriott isn't meeting your needs or if you're having to struggle to get to Gold.

Cheers.

I've always thought that Marriott had pretty good coverage and options for Florida. And while they could always do better, they have quite a few nice options in the Caribbean as well.

My observation is that they all have their pros and cons. MR's big plus is their presence in almost all locations I've worked. Their minus is the ratio of earned benefits to investment. I suspect that tradeoff is true of all programs - there is an efficient frontier on which you need to place yourself to be competitive. Obviously a program with lousy benefits and few chains wouldn't do very well. Super benefits and ubiquitous properties would be great for us, but the competitive market drives them to equality with others.

So you need to figure out which is best for your preferences, stay patterns, etc. I selected MR and SPG after trying out HH and HY for a couple of years. HY just doesn't have the ability to stay/earn points where my projects have taken me. HH regularly seems to underestimate where they need to be to be competitive and end up less than efficient from a competitive standpoint.

So there is no "right" answer. As Sharon noted, you need to figure out what's best for you. Unfortunately, after 10+ years here, I've seen many. many FT'ers proclaim "I've had it, I'm headed to XYZ", only to find that the grass may be greener but it's shorter and less dense when you get close-up - there are pro/con tradeoffs and nothing is ever better in every way.

Give HY a try - it's the only way you'll know whether it's the right fit for you. I spend about 5 years before settling on my portfolio.

I log 140 nights a year on average and have stayed with Marriott for the past 4.5 years. I am now slowly switching to SPG. I am only staying at Marriott for promotion (to ensure I get lifetime Plat) and for locations where Marriott is more convenient. But if rate is > $180, I usually select Marriott. With the green choice, I feel SPG more appealing if the rate is low. For expensive rate, the delta of points earned is low for SPG, but big for Marriott. So rate > $180, i stay at Marriott, else at SPG (for equal convenient and quality)

Hyatt Gold Passport is a sound program that offers good value. If it has properties where you travel, go for it!

For us who based in Europe, Marriott has quite a few good CYs that is not insanely high-priced. I'd love to try out Hyatt and SPG but their FS is out of our budget.

I do like the 'Place' a lot - it would have been perfect if there is a microwave in room too.

Try finding a Marriott in Orlando with a Lounge. I think there are 2 at the airport. Hotels are called "resorts" that aren't really resorts. A nice pool (like they have in any Suburban neighborhood in Florida) does not make a "hotel" a resort.

Same thing with Caribbean. Outside of San Juan none of the properties have a CL. So as a Plat the only benefit is free Internet which everyone gets as part of the "resort fee" that I must pay too. So as a Platinum the benefits at resorts are about nothing. One of the "true" resorts Marriott had in Florida BTW we just lost (Eden Roc).