I need to go to Austin for a weekend in March and I'm trying to figure out which hotel chain to stay at to start earning points. I currently have Hilton Gold (through Visa Infinite promo they had recently), but no other status.

For 3/22-24 I see $277/night rate at Hyatt Regency (and they'll be running the new promo soon for 4,000 points after 4 nights + 1,000 points for Hyatt cardholders). Hilton Austin is $201 and Garden Inn is $152 (and Hilton is running a couple of promos - 7,000 points for 2-night weekend stay and 33% off Any Weekend, Anywhere). I can get a $219 rate at W Austin through FoundersCard (and Starwood is doing the double points for 2-night stay promo). Marriott's Residence Inn is $184 (and Marriott is doing the Stay twice, earn a free night MegaBonus). And finally, Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin is $234 (and PC has a couple of promos for double the points every stay and 5,000 points after 3 stays).

Hard to choose..

The Four Seasons is the best hotel in the city. Get a river view room. A good hotel is more important than points.

The Intercontinental is out at the airport, by the way, not in the city.

Given the parlous and perilous and state of Austin's roads and freeways, the closer you are to your actual workplace, the happier your time there will be.

What is the purpose of your trip to Austin? That could determine your hotel choice. If you're going to be exclusively downtown, try to stay downtown. If you're going to be doing all kinds of things on the Northwest part of town, then stay up there. Austin traffic can be abysmal at any time of day, any day of the week.

I agree with others that choosing a convenient location is important.

In addition, I think you need to consider other factors with each of the properties as they relate to your personal needs. For example, if you want free breakfast and/or free internet, your HH Gold status provides that, but without status, you are unlikely to get these benefits at other chain's full service properties. Marriott Residence Inn provides free breakfast and internet (I think) to all guests, but has reduced points earning (half of full service Marriotts)

You also need to think about this trip in conjunction with your future travel (both to earn more points and in terms of how you want to use points). For example, you mentioned Marriott's Megabonus offer, but that only will be valuable if you have another paid stay planned during the promotion period, and have plans within six months from the MB end date to stay in a Marriott category 1 - 4 hotel (assuming the MB terms haven't changed; I have not looked at the T&Cs of the current one).

The Hilton in downtown Austin across the street from the convention center is one of the nicer ones in the US. The HGI a few blocks away is less well recommended. The Intercontinental on Congress is very nice, more intimate and old-world elegant than the Hilton which I think is the largest hotel in town.

Ilike the downtown location of the W. The Driskill is an iconic historical luxury hotel. Of course it depends on your tastes and what you plan to do in Austin.

There's also a Sheraton which I basically like, but the rooms are small

You also should also take into consideration the FC W Austin benefits, as well. The founders card rate is for a Wonderful room, which is a step above their base room (Cozy room), so you basically get a free room upgrade. Also, you will receive 2 drink coupons when using the FC rate. The coupons are good for any drink $15.00 or less.

I'm going to Austin to visit friends and will most likely stay downtown. HH is looking like a good option, so I'll probably go for Hilton or Hampton Inn.

By the way, does anyone know if the HH Any Weekend, Anywhere 33% off promo is stackable with the one that gives you 1,000 pts/night + 5,000 bonus points for a weekend stay?

...but if money is more important,
you could try at staybridge round rock
for 5000 pointbreak, i.e. $30 worth of IHG points.

The Intercontinental is actually on Congress. That is a Hilton out by the airport.

You are right about the traffic in Austin, though.

I live in Austin. The Hyatt is nice but nothing great. The Hilton is very nice and a good location - walking distance to downtown. The Driskill is old but rooms are small. The Residence Inn and Courtyard are actually new and nice and walking distance. The IC is also very nice and is downtown. A lot of good options.