And that is my logic. You can do all the math you want, but at the end of the day, I want to stay at properties I like at a chain that has properties in the locations I go to on business, and has properties at locations I want to redeem rewards at.

You could show me calculations that "prove" Starwood and Hilton and Hyatt offer better "return on investment" and I would still stay at Marriott. Why? Because there are no Hyatts where I go. And because I have stayed at way too many Hamptons and Four Points that were dumps. I rarely have that experience at Marriott, from FS down to Fairfield Inn.

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=819348

with regards to the title question - i have no idea which program lets you earn the fastest / has the cheapest awards. (most award nights at lowest redemption level) im sure its been figured out somewhere on FT. anyone know?

Agreed. You get more with your MR point than with your HH point.

I actually feel that Hyatt Gold Passport points are the most valuable. I am taking the family on vacation this summer in California (2 nights San Diego, 6 nights Anaheim) and HGP gave us the best value, hands down. I could have used HGP, MR or HH points, but Hyatt gave me higher-end hotels, Executive Club (SD) and Kids Suites (ANA) for VERY reasonable points totals.

Obviously, it depends on where your going, but point per point, Hyatt's redemption is the best value. MR is a very good program, I enjoy it, but I have made the mistake by committing to Marriott for this year and not continuing on with Hyatt. When this stint in San Fran is up, it's back to the Hyatt unless none around.

Inside Flyer just published a hotel loyalty program comparison. I just read it myself and I have lots of thoughts and I imagine I will develop analysis of the report over the next week.

The InsideFlyer does a good comparison of the major hotel loyalty programs from a static perspective. The variables were kept to a minimum and elite bonus consideration given.

As all frequent guests know who participate in multiple hotel loyalty programs, the variables make all the difference in the world.

Hilton HHonors looks great at a static level of comparing apples to apples, or hotel base points earned to hotel base points earned, or elite bonus points to elite bonus points between programs.

Without consideration of Hyatt Faster Free Nights, Starwood Cash & Points, 2,000 Priority Club points for every 2 stays, and the frequent promotional opportunities afforded to frequent guests, the comparisons may be precise, but rather limited in real world accuracy when it comes to the frequent guest's earning power in points and free nights over the course of the year.

The promotions are the world of difference in hotel loyalty programs.

The InsideFlyer comparison is a bit weak because it excludes the hotel affinity credit cards, which if you use them can have a big impact on award earning (especially for Starwood and Marriott's Premier card for US residents). Starwood's Amex will give another 2 points per dollar charged at Starwood properties, while Marriott's Premier card gives another 5 points and 15 nights elite credit. That would push the 38 night guest to gold at Marriott, and it would allow the guest to earn free weekend nights using EEOs, which do not require any points.

I agree with everything you just stated. It is much easy for me to maintain Diamond status with Hilton. I don't think I'll ever get to Plat w/MR. I'm Gold, but I don't think I'll be able to hang on to that status for very long. We are done traveling this FY and it is unlikely there will be a budget signed on time for FY 08-09 in California. I hope I'm wrong.

I seen to rack up HHonors points by the thousands using our Hilton AMEX. I do need to get the MR Visa, but I need to be smart about when I take out this card for the maximum benefit with respect to the time my Gold will run out. I can't find out when that is on the MR website....I'm still looking though.

Dawn

This post is a good read, but mainly math based.

There are a few things to add to consideration (other than just math)
*Coverage -> If the resort doesn't have locations which you care then the math doesn't mean much
*Award availability -> If you book far enough ahead this is a minor issue, if not, this has greater importance
*Stay length -> The big three have discounts for consecutive nights, Hilton 4 & 6+, Starwood 6, Marriott pro-rated up to 7 nights.

How is award availability with Marriott? I've got HH Gold (and an HH Amex) and was just comped to MR Gold due to my Flying Blue status. Now that I have a decent stash of HHonors points (about 250,000), I was thinking of getting a second credit card (either the Starwood Amex or an MR-linked card) and starting to accumulate points (through purchases and infrequent stays) with another chain. One of the features that is most appealing in the SPG and HH programs is the absence of blackout dates for reward nights. How does MR compare? For me, Marriott properties fit my budget and travel habits somewhat better than Starwood, but Starwood has some higher end properties I'd love to be able to stay at on reward nights. Thanks

YMWV

You can easily go to marriott's website and check award availability without even logging in. You might want to just check out a few locations on your own and see what availability you get (keep in mind sometimes "standard" rewards are available that REQUIRE a paid upgrade).

I stay between 150-300 nights per year, every year, for the last 7 years in hotels. I've tried all the chains.

I have to say that Hyatt Gold Passport is the best for award nights and value. The only problem is the limited number of hotels. When they have have a hotel in a location, it is usually one of the best if not the best in the city. Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt Paris, Park Hyatt Chicago, Grand Hyatt Kauai, Park Hyatt Washington DC, Hotel Victor (south beach) are awesome. Overall I think the Park Hyatt chain is only a slight step down from Four Seasons. The Grand Hyatt Atlanta is comparable to JW Marriott Buckhead for example.

On the other end of the scale, I find the Hyatt Place hotels to be better than the nearby competition like Courtyard, Residence Inn, or Hilton Garden Inn. It just feels a lot more upscale and fresh, for the same cost as the others.

You should really look at the type of hotels you like to stay at. If you like lots of free nights at budget hotels, one program might be better than others. For us using Hyatt points, allowed us to stay at places we would normally never pay for. Five nights at the PH paris would run you around $8,000 USD for their cheapest room.

Hyatt's highest status is easy to get. Only 13 stays required when they run their promos Jan-March. They've done this for the last 2-3 years.

Add Faster Free Nights into the mix and you can not go wrong. As diamonds, they allow you to reserve awards using points far in advance and convert them to Faster Free Nights during the promo periods. This has saved me many hundreds of thousands points and guaranteed we were able to get a free night when we want them.

Lately I've been traveling on Priceline rates since I own my own business. Where other brands sometimes deny elite status benefits, Hyatt always gives you full benefits no matter what rate you're paying or who you booked it with. I think that speaks a lot about them.

I have Hyatt as my first choice, Starwood second, Marriott third.

Note that Marriott is the same.

I ran the calculation for an example Hyatt.

$200 / night x 5 pts per dollar = 1,000 pts
1,000 pts x Diamond bonus 30% = 1,300 pts
1,300 pts + Diamond Welcome Amenity (instead of a food item) 1,000 pts = 2,300 pts
2,300 pts x 4 one night stays per month = 9,200 points

Note that Hyatt does not have an affinity credit card to earn additional points for spend.

A mid level Hyatt example might be the Hyatt SFO Airport Hyatt Cat 2 compared to Embassy Suites SFO Hilton Cat 4.

So with Hyatt you would get 1.2 free nights / month.

In addition, Hyatt regularly runs bonus points for almost each location. In our example, the SFO airport has 1,500 pt bonus per stay.

If you include the "G" bonuses for the stays at the Cat 2 SFO Hyatt, you get a total of 15,200 pts or 1.9 award nights per month.

Also, during Faster Free Nights periods, you will get the points, plus 2 free nights, for a total of 3.9 free nights. The Faster Free Nights can be used at any property worldwide (excluding 2-3 locations), so have a value up to 18,000 points each.

I've never got them to honor that when I had Gold status last year. I showed them the card, but they always tell me that since I was booked on PL, there would be no benefits.

This happened to me at the CY in Cleveland and the JW Marriott in ATL. The funny thing is at the JW ATL, when paying the regular rate, they would upgrade me and I would get access to the club, but when on PL rates, the treatment is totally different.

Hyatt has been much more consistently good when I travel on PL.

Hi
I am starting afresh with business consulting travel.

Which hotel chain do you suggest I start with. My company has Hilton, Marriot and Intercontinental tie-ups... so I could start with either one.

One last thing... I do have some 75K points with starwood via Starwood Credit card but 0 stays. I also have HHonors Credit card.

thanks!!

=ShyGuyCalif