Which hotel program to compliment Starwoods?
 

I'm a Starwood Platinum/Gold member (depending on the year) and would like to compliment this program with another one. I would prefer to always stay at an SPG property, but its international exposure is low compared to others.

I most likely won't make upper-elite status on others. My main priority is to increase international exposure and accumlate points for reward redemption.

I was learning towards Hilton or IHC... thoughts?

Personally, I think SPG's international exposure is very decent (at least in my case). My international locations are basically Asian, specifically Chinese cities. The reward night redemption is cheap compared to HH.

To answer your question, my suggestion is to go with IHC, even though my main hotel program is HH. The advantages of IHC, IMHO, is that it's relatively easy to earn points and there are quite a number of properties abroad (at least in China) for you to earn and redeem.


alextktan

Hilton. Also easy to get elite status if you want it. Get the no annual fee Amex Hilton HHonors card and you automatically get silver status. Spend 20k annually on the card and you'll get gold status.

Hilton does have good international exposure but I've been recently using them for less dense areas in the US where you'd be hard pressed to find a nearby SPG property. For example my last two stays were at Hilton Hampton Inns, one in Sandusky, OH to visit Cedar Point and another at Youngstown, OH where SPG locations are nowhere to be found.

Another upcoming stay for a skydiving event also happens to be at a Hampton Inn. SPG is great for urban cities but they don't have a brand under their umbrella that's as widespread and equivalent to Hilton's Hampton Inn.

only go with hilton if you can make diamond status....then its a fantastic program....

otherwise ihg is pretty good....every year i have 1 or 2 priority club stays & i have always made it to gold....with all the promos out there it is so easy to accumulate points....

in the last 4 years i have had about 10 stays with them & already have over 200k points....

I guess it depends on where you want your added exposure. For my purposes, I always enjoyed having Hyatt be my secondary program. Great promotions make it wasy to get elite status and points to burn for great properties around the world.

I know it has less properties than Marriot, IHG, and Hilton but the ease of gaining elite status and points for redemption are excellent.

LOL - thanks for the responses, but as you can tell, there's a variety of opinions for a secondary. Hilton, IHC, Hyatt...

My number #1 factor is to earn points and easy redemption. I also forgot to point out I'm mainly a Eastern European and Middle East traveler. Been to Asia quite a few times when I was young so I'm working myself west :)

Or get the Surpass Card - $75 (I think, free first year?) but you get Gold for a year.

True in general, but for award stays overseas, Gold is pretty good - at least they guarantee b'fast, and you might get into the lounge (if they have one, and you get a bit lucky on the u/g)

Another vote for IHG. Check out the promos thread on FlyerTalk... amazingly easy to earn and redeem, and the elite benefits tend to be decent. If the locations work, it could be a great choice. As an example, right now there are three hotels still available on the current pointbreaks in the Middle East - 5000 points per night redemption. Pretty easy to earn enough for a few nights there.

lounge access is gauranteed only for diamonds....at a lot of overseas properties golds will only get lounge access if you are upgraded to a club or executive room....

With IHG you can always purchase Ambassador status. It comes with a free weekend night and 5,000 points to make up for the cost and it provides reasonable upgrades as well as Platinum status in Priority Club and a few other small perks.