I third this statement question.

Stay with Starwood.

The more loyal you are with them, the better chance they'll take of you in the future.

And it's not all that black and white when we think of the free night promos via Marriott and Hyatt. Because basically, you are earning 1 free night at SPG for every night stayed for the duration of the Free Wknd Loyalty Promo and as a Plat you continue to earn the equivalent of 2 free nights at Category 1 hotels for every 3 stays. Sure less valuable in that the categories are not as great as the MAR & HYATT promos but still a money saver.

In any case, at least make sure you reach the 20K maximum limit with SPG because each stay equals to one free night.

i.e., 100$ night = 300 pts + 500 Web booking bonus + 500 Plat bonus + 1000 Free Wknd Loyalty promo (5K for 5 nights) = 2300 SPG pts of which 2K equals 1 free Category 1 night, and is often a savings of at least 100$.

There really are no better choices at this time.

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Got points ? Got smiles !

Nothing personal Stephen but I really think you are reaching on that analysis.

But TH, He *loves* Starwood. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

DLSIZE, while achieving status in the other loyalty programs might be nice; I wonder what your motivations are for achieving premiere status in the other hotel programs? Are you looking for upgrades? points? status recognition for having Premiere status in multiple programs?

Usually, I pick the hotel I think would be the most comfortable where I need to stay (within my budget). Why not just do this? Enjoy the hotels where you have status and can get upgrades, or enjoy the hotels that you stay at, and perhaps think about staying at more of them if you like them.

I'm not really saying this from a status perspective as much as I am from a "most bang for the buck" perspective of staying a relatively few nights at Marriott (9 nites - 3 weekends) and Hyatt (10 nights which are one nite stays each) and receiving ten free nights (5 at Marriott Cat 1-4) & (5 at Hyatt including most of them but a few that are specifically listed) In addition you are receiving points in the MR and Hyatt programs.

I love spg too but the cold hard free nights are too much to pass up imho

Basically what you are getting is a free night for every 1.9 paid night if done correctly.

To me that is worth more than any point promo or point accumulation out there.