yes

yes for 50,000 points, but there is no guarantedd that it will continue.

yes.

Definitely, Hilton has many locations and a great variety of properties (quality wise and cost wise) and some very savvy use of points for great rewards. Starwood has generally more upscale properties which are great to take your vacations with once you tire of the premium Hilton properties.

Throwing in my 2 cents - go w/HHonors

Another vote for HHonors. I sort of stumbled into the program just 3 years ago, first year sliver, next gold and now diamond. After 2 years, I had earned enough points for 12 nights in HI which I redeemed efforlessly for this summer (still enough points left over for another 6 nights in the future). Plus rec'd airline miles to boot, sometimes double miles during one of several programs which have been offered in the past. Am also Starwood Gold, but upgrades tough and never include club floors and no free breakfast ever. Marriott's program is the most stingy in my experience, so I just avoid them.

Hyatt is offering AA EXP's instant Diamond - and with 4 nights between now and the end of the year, it will be good for all of 2003 - great upgrade program if Hyatt is your bed of choice. I signed up and will be using it in Tokyo next weekend for 3 nights....

the comments on HH are right on - I have taken advantage of that as well with AA - and it's been excellent.

I am Marriott Platinum, Starwood Platinum and Hilton Diamond (whew!). My thoughts are:

Marriott - Most consistant hotel experience. Generally poor on bonus earning opportunities and/or promotions, though those weekend certs are nice. Award availability is OK every time I've tried.. Customer service is OK -- response time is good via email but quality is not that great. Website simple and basically effective.

Starwood - Most varying hotel experience. Some are excellent, some are just poor. Generally have good promotions, though pretty dry right now. Award availability -- I have not tried so I do not know. Customer service is by far the best here, but that's primarily due to Starwood Lurker and my personal Platinum Concierge (which doesn't exist in the other programs). Website a bit too complex to use, but usually effective.

Hilton - I'm a relatively new Diamond, however I like Hilton because they are most comparable to Marriott in terms of variety and brands/hotels available, and I can usually find something in my budget for that week. I've been hopping between several of them for several months now. Quality is a little sub-par Marriott but better than Starwood. Don't know about awards here either. I got hooked on CNTU, but now don't see many bonus options. Customer service here is by far the worst of the three -- they hardly respond via email or phone. I've been having a lot of trouble with their website recently, so I've actually had to call in several reservations.

So to summarize from this top tier member, I chose the program that has the best hotel in the area, since the programs have their strengths and weaknesses. But all other things being equal, I go in this order:

Starwood
Marriott
Hilton*

With Hilton getting a nod above Marriott often because I often find better corporate rates through them than Marriott. Customer service is what sets them apart, IMHO. Of course, I travel so much my award is to stay at home or go to Vegas where award stays dont' make much sense

I am a Gold HHonors member (because of an e-Rewards promotion last year, not earned) and have been pleased with the service and upgrades at Hilton properties.

But the program I swear by is not a points-based program--it's Wyndham ByRequest. For the money (especially with the discounts I've found this year) Wyndham has some of the nicest properties around, and the extras you get as a ByRequest member are amazing (free calls, including long distance, free high-speed Internet access, upgrades, newspapers, snacks, etc.). I stay at Wyndhams as often as possible.

I agree that both Starwood and Hhonors are excellent options. (I just completed my four stays for the CNTU promo - 69000 points by my estimate with all the bonus points, etc.!!!)

However - I believe that if I had the opportunity to earn hotel points for 100+ stays in a year, my money (or my company's $$) would be spent mostly at Starwood properties. (If the cost was about the same for either Hilton or Starwood properties.)

The redemption options are much better with Starwood - 2500 pts for a $50 Avis cert vs. 25000 Hhonors pts for a one-day rental at Avis?!?!?

And the 5000 mile bonus for redeeming 20000 Starwood pts for airline miles?!?!
(vs. Hhonors 75000 pts for a domestic coach ticket with restrictions up the ying-yang.)

Sure, it takes a little longer to earn points with the Starwood program, but maybe, just maybe, they're worth a little more too.

Just my 2.5 cents worth.

Wyndham's program is a joke: avoid it. Can't earn free nights. I dropped Wyndham completely b/c they only rarely delivered on the skimpy benefits of the program, even when I reminded the front desk about them.

Starwood's 25K miles for 20K points might sound good compared to Hilton until you do the math on the number of stays/nights you'd need to earn that many points. B/c you get 500 airline miles with Hilton props. exc. Hampton (100 miles), you can earn thousands of miles anyway in addition to the points which you earn.

I would select Hilton if you go to smaller cities, and probably Starwood if you stay in big American cities.

Starwood is great if you or your employer can afford the Sheraton/Westin/etc level, and they have the incredible Lurker and no blackout dates. But Four Points and Sheraton Inn properties are often very very sad and tired compared to Courtyard or Hampton Inn. Many of the places where I travel either do not have a non-4Pts Starwood brand, or its at a premium of around 50%. I don't stay at Marriotts because I inevitably get hassled about using goverment rate when travelling as a contractor on government projects whose contracts specify that I qualify for and have to stay at/below government rate.

I really value consistency when I travel for work, and except for the ex-Red Lions that are now Doubletrees in the Pacific NW, I have been very satisfied with Hilton.