Hyatt: they aren't all high-end anymore; they seem to have a lot of mainline Hyatts that compare pretty directly to a mainline Marriott, plus they have Hyatt Place which to me is a better version of a Spring Hill Suites. Zero rural coverage that I'm aware of and thinner coverage worldwide than their competitors.

PC: Problem with PC (to me, anyway) is that they don't have a good midrange full-service brand. It's IC at the top end and nothing else until you get down to some tired, worn out Crowne Plazas which to me are at the bottom edge of Doubletree or Sheraton and wouldn't even fit into any brand at Marriott. Obviously PC is huge for rural travelers and you can earn tons of points through promos and such.

I almost wish PC and Hyatt would merge: put 'em together, merge the IC's into Park Hyatt or Grand Hyatt, cherry-pick the few good Crowne Plazas and merge 'em into mainline Hyatt, consolidate a couple of the minisuites/suites brands, and leave all the other brands as-is...now you have something that could stand up well with the Big Three.

I agree that PC has no mid it seems. But if you value upgrades and many hotels, they've got both. If you can manage to earn RA you'll live well at ICs! And you'll surely find a hotel everywhere.
+ Free nights galore.

Yeah, I hear IC treats their own elites very well. I just don't have enough paid stays that cross paths with IC - our corporate system sends us pretty regularly into Marriott and Starwood properties.

My favorite brand in PC is HIX because they'll go into very small towns that aren't on the Interstate. The brand is still pretty new, so the properties are usually cleaner and nicer than the other deep-rural brands. Hampton and Fairfield are great if you're roadtripping on an Interstate but HIX will sometimes pop up in a town on a state road far from the major highways.

This is a factor often neglected. Gathering a ton of Hyatt points won't do you much good if you want to go to Portugal or Belgium, for example.

Being a leisure traveler whose main point earning is from credit cards, I rank them as:

1. Club Carlson if you have the visa for the BOGO award benefit and annual bonus.
2. Priority Club for the annual free night, 10% refund on awards and PLT status.
3. SPG for good transfer rates to airlines if you can't find a hotel you want.
4. Choice for cheap Europe awards 8000-10000 a night.
5. Wyndham only if there is a promo but I transfer straight to an airline.

I don't really use the other chains because in most cases I can find a CC or PC hotel where I am going (outside of my birding -eco-lodges which are VERY remote)!