sdsearch

It also depends on things like how far ahead you book (flights) and how many nights at a time you stay (in hotels) and who pays for your hotel stays and how tall you are.

For me, the lowest-tier airline elite level (that lets me reserve exit row seats or otherwise seats with more legroom, given that I'm tall) is more valuable than the highest-tier elite level at hotels I can afford on my own dime (and since all my travel is on my own dime, it doesn't matter how great elite level at Hyatt's might be to me, since I can't afford Hyatt's rates to begin with).

How much is free internet worth? It's very nice, but at most about $15 a night in the US. How much is free breakfast worth? again, very nice, but it's at most $$ in the US. Now, how much does reserving a seat with exit row legroom or better cost if you have no elite status? It costs at least that much again to upgrade to Economy Plus on UA, and there's no way to pay for any less upgrade than all the way to first (for many $$$) on most other airlines!

Meanwhile, if you can afford to pay Hyatt's rates (on your own dime) already, just what percentage of value do you get from free internet and free breakfast??? The charges for those at other comparable hotels are a tiny fraction of the daily rates I tend to see for Hyatt properties.

And, meanwhile, the highest-level tier at most hotel programs built around less-expensive hotel chains gets you pretty much nothing beyond bonus points,,, (Priority Club, Choice Privileges, WynhamRewards, BestWestern Rewards, etc.) And I can't see how someone would claim that bonus points alone is better than priority seating, priority boarding, priority check-in, priority lines in security (at least at some airports), etc, which doesn't even take the top-tier of most airline programs to get.

Having said that: Top-tier status at hotels is generally much easier to earn (either through bonus points or credit card spend at many chains), year after year, while qualifying for top-tier airline status is hard work if your company doesn't send you all over the place all the time.

pinniped

sdsearch brings up a slightly different, but very valid, point: with all of the rules about luggage, seat assignments, security lines, etc. the low-tier airline status is suddenly worth a great deal.

A low-tier hotel status is generally good enough to ensure that you don't get the most undesirable rooms in the building, but beyond that it is not worth much.

Not really the original question, but important nonetheless.

I would love to hold a top-tier hotel status that really meant something. Well, to clarify: I'd love to hold a top-tier status and travel to specific properties where it meant something. SPG Plat at a top St. Regis. Or maybe whatever VIP-type statuses exist within Four Seasons, Pan Pacific, etc. Of course I don't really do revenue nights at those places, so I'll just keep dreamin'...and maybe one of these years do a really top-shelf stay as an HH Diamond and hit the upgrade jackpot.

Firewind

At the center, for me, is that being a United 1K SAVES ME A TON on all the fees, mainly the change and close-in fees. This is head, shoulders, (knees and toes) above everything else. Over the years, the other perks have been at the center, but no more -- whether it's on my dime or the business's (which doesn't insulate me). Don't get me wrong. All the other perks are as important as they always have been, but the fee issue has catapulted past the others.

As to the hotels, fortunately, I still travel enough to get free breakfast, something that's not even a perk in the rest of the world (meaning it's a given). It's frankly all I care about anymore at hotels. Well, and free wifi nowadays, but that's a given at all the "lesser" chains (another irony -- for another day).

nigos

As a 1K on UA, it's not the upgrades or tickets or fee waivers - but rather it's all about priority standby during irregular operations.

Firewind

There's definitely that. But I would disagree only in that, BOS, ORD and IAD - which are where I (and probably most people at ORD and IAD) mostly encounter IRROPS - are VERY top heavy with Global Services. So, yes, it's better for us than the rest, but not what you would assume.

halothane

For me, I value my airline status to be much more important than hotel status. UA 1K/GS receive hotels during weather related delays and that has proven to be VERY valuable for me. The difference in treatment for 1K/GS is astounding. You practically can get anything you ask for provided you're being nice and it's within reason.

Regarding hotel status, I hold middle tier with Hyatt and SPG and am very happy. I am much more interested in promos such as Hyatt's Faster Free Nights. I've never had a weather related delay with getting a hotel room...hotel rooms tend to be much more predictable than air travel. I stay at Hyatt and SPG properties only but collected Hyatt, SPG, and HHonors.

Halothane

Efrem

In a major change from ten years ago, I now travel almost exclusively at my own expense. It would be nice to still have anonymous stockholders bankrolling my habit without knowing it, but it's not happening and doesn't look like it's going to in the future.

In that situation, I value airline status more because I can't afford to stay in hotels where I might earn status - or at least not often enough to earn it. At the recent OzFest 6, I could have stayed at the Hilton and might have liked to, but my hotel was next door to the next-most-popular conference hotel, within easy walking distance of the Hilton for the activities that took place there or near there, totally acceptable in every respect, and half the price for four nights. On public higher education pay, soon to be a public higher ed pension, that matters. OTOH, I had no choice but to reach Australia on a major airline since there just aren't any inexpensive options. Elite benefits, such as lounge access (BOS, SFO, SYD, CNS), early boarding and so on were all nice to have. There fortunately weren't any irregular operations that required special handling, but that would have been very valuable as well.

Beyond that, to me a hotel is a place to sleep. When I'm asleep I don't know, or care, how big the room is or how fancy the lobby. Give me a comfortable bed, plumbing that works, and a coffee maker - I'm happy, and I'm usually out the door too soon to really appreciate the other stuff. This is not to deny that I'd enjoy something like a Hilton lounge once in a while - I've been there as a guest, it's nice - but considering how seldom I'd use it, it doesn't change the overall balance much.

pinniped

Excellent point. ^ We're taking a trip this week that involved redepositing two awards to switch to a set of flights that had both W and NC availability for SWU use. We did all of the ticketing / redeposit activity at the airport, so without 1K we would have probably been hit with two different sets of fees. (Maybe three...the original itin was a paper ticket because it had Adria segments in it. I probably would have had to pay a fee to get that original award to begin with.)

brendog

Throw in free wi-fi and I'm sold... Full service hotels don't have a single offering that I find useful that I can't find at a Hampton or a CY. All the hotel points do is ensure that I never have to pay out of pocket whilst on vaca.

pinniped

Plus, it's kind of fun booking a Hampton Inn an hour or two ahead of you on the highway, then rolling in at 9PM and finding that you're the "Guest of the Day" as an HH Gold!

It's gotten us the Jacuzzi suite a couple of times... ^

I trust Hampton Inn to book it sight-unseen. With other brands in this category, I'm more likely to show up and at least want to see the building before I book it. (Not that that's a perfect indicator...) Then you've got the risk that some funky local event has the motels sold out. There are enough Hamptons along any given highway that there will always be a room at one of them within an hour's drive of your desired endpoint for the day.

USirritated

Having been Platinum with Marriott for years, and Chairman's and Plat and Gold with US, and then Gold and Silver with DL, I have seen enough to know the differences and can make all the comparisons, and believe me, it does really matter!

I know that a lot of people complain about not getting meaningful upgrades with Marriott hotels, but I don't know why, because I get them all the time, and many other benefits too. I get suites or larger corner rooms at Marriott FS and Renaissance hotels about 40-50% of the time, and at Courtyard, in the hotels that have suites, I have gotten some of those too. Just tonight where I checked in to the Renaissance Pere Marquette in MSY (this hotel does not have suites), I got the Club Room floor, the corner room (which is the largest on the floor), and because I am a Plat, they matched the $98 AAA rate at the Courtyard New Orleans (one block away), because I said I would go there, instead of paying their AAA rate of $116. The lounge was open tonight for soft drinks and a snack, and will be open again for breakfast in the morning, all included, and this hotel offers free WIFI to all elites as a policy, which I knew, because I have stayed here before.

As far as the airlines go, the differences between Chairman's, Plat, and Gold with US was like night and day. As Chairman, I was upgraded for free 95% of the time, and the dedicated Chairman's rez line had service that was incredible, and there were no extra charges for anything! When I dropped down to Platinum, I still got upgraded about 80% of the time, but the fees started coming, such as booking fees if I wanted to speak with a live rez agent, and fees to redeem frequent flyer miles for reservations less than 21 days before the flights, and more for less than 10 days before the flights, and so on. As a US Gold, the upgrades were about 50% of the time, and the fees were even slightly more than for Plats. Having an elite line at check in (if I need it) is a big plus, because it allows me to go to most airports only 40-45 minutes before a flight

On DL, which I fly now, Gold got me upgraded about 80% of the time, and I could switch my flight to any other flight on the same day as my reservation with no charge. Silver gets me upgraded about 45-50% of the time, and if I miss my flight, or if I want to switch to any other flight on the same day as my reservation, it costs me $50. Any elite with DL does not pay bag fees, which is a nice benefit, but I am working hard to get myself back to Gold as fast as I can, because Silver bites! Just as with US, having an elite line at check in is a big plus, because it allows me to go to most airports only 40-45 minutes before a flight, and DL also has elite/first class security lines for security on many concourses, also a big plus.

*One side note about DL, I really wish they would get rid of the redhead with the cheesy plastic surgery and botox on the aircraft welcome video, she is wearing awfully thin, does anyone else agree with me?

So, in conclusion, I would have to say, having gone without my airline upgrades between DL Gold and Silver, that I am always uncomfortable and missing what I had, that airline elite status is more important than hotel elite status, but I would fight like hell for both!

As an interesting extra, I just recently because an Avis Chairman's Club member, and that is a terrific elite program! I never have to pay for more than a mid-size car but I get upgraded to the best available car they have, usually a luxury car, and they sometimes pick me up right in the terminal personally and take me right to my car, and they will always drive me back to the terminal in the same car, after I've checked in, so I don't need to haul my stuff out and take the bus. Over the course of a year, I would say that Avis Chairman's Club will save me $500 or $700 or more.

hiltonlondon2009

Very interesting arguments on both sides. Of course, as many folks have already pointed out, this is a personal choice based on one's travel habits.

Now, I've never attained peak status at any hotel chain, although I have come so very close on both Hilton and *wood. With that in mind, I have to give the edge to American Airlines EXP. Even if I had *wood plat, I'd probably still go with AA EXP mainly due to the American's EXP helpdesk. Those ladies are the best in the airline business hands down and have saved me thousands of dollars on personal travel when I've had to cancel / rebook tickets. When I travel, I try and spend as much time as possible away from the hotel. If I'm in my room for more than 8 hours in a 24 hour period, it better be because I'm doubled over the toilet with food poisoning. I'm more of a hostels kind of guy anyway, so hotels and suites and robes and free champagne don't do much for me at all.

Of course, my main argument for siding with airlines is the X2 miles you get with top status. On American, I usually get a free ticket in 3 RTs to Chicago. That's one darn free vacation flight for every three weeks of work travel!

PCMflyer

I have been top tier with both Hilton (Diamond) and Marriott (Platinum) for the past four years. Unfortunately I have not been able to achieve the top tier with legacy airlines. I have reached and am currently gold with Delta. I'm also A list with Southwest.

I have used my hotel points for some of the worlds best hotels and in some cases been treated like royalty. So for me the hotel points are best.

Last year we were upgraded to a very large three room corner suite on the executive floor of the Hilton Cavalieri. The room overlooked Rome and Saint Peter's Basilica. The free spa usage and the excellent food and beverage at the executive lounge was all wonderful. All of this was for 175,000 Hilton points. A six night stay with a room rate of 1,000 Euro's per night would have cost us over $9,000. I'm not rich so that would have never happened without the points. The points were earned staying mostly at cheap Hampton Inns.

If top tier airline status beats that, then I need to try harder to obtain it.

uammiler

Airline status wins out for me...mainly due to IRROPS. Hotel status can get you a nicer room, free breakfast, some snacks, and maybe free internet access. But airline status can get you home closer to your original schedule during IRROPS and maybe get you home earlier is choosing to take an earlier flight.

Of course, if you aren't flying any of the legacy carriers, then the benefits of airline status seem muted and hotel status starts looking better.

USirritated

I certainly agree with you there PCM! However, that is true for either airlines or hotels. I spend my money domestically, and spend my points internationally for both flying and hotels (by and large, with a few exceptions).

For domestic air travel, I spend dollars for my airline tickets and accumulate miles, and I would never consider spending miles on myself for domestic travel, because it devalues the miles. 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket that would be worth $300-400 is silly when 80,000 or 90,000 miles for an international business class ticket would be worth $3,000-5,000 and 100,000 to 125,000 miles for an international first class ticket would be worth $6,000-15,000 depending on the airline and the routing.

For domestic hotels, I spend dollars for my hotel stays and accumulate points, and with the exception of NYC, BOS, Hawaii, and a couple of other very expensive locations, I would never consider spending miles on myself for domestic hotels, because it devalues the points. For the same 130,000 points with Marriott, you can stay in a class 6 hotel, no matter where it is, and no matter what the actual price per night is. A class 6 hotel in Dallas might cost $189 per night, while a class 6 hotel in London cost me £350 per night, at a time when the exchange rate was $2.00 per pound! So, a six night stay in that location would have cost $4,200 plus tax at that time. Then I went on to Amsterdam, and stayed another six nights, where the rate was €340, and the exchange rate at that time was $1.40 per euro! So, a six night stay in that location would have cost $2,946. The bonus points and accumulation and the room upgrades were as a result my Platinum status. I would not have gone on the trip if I would not have been able to get the rooms and use the huge amount of points that I had accumulated, because I would not have spent over $7,100 on the hotels alone!

Of course I did the same for my airfare too, but the deals were much more difficult to come by, but still, in the long run, the elite memberships in both are highly valuable, and I would find it very difficult to sacrifice one over the other.