I've never paid much attention to hotel points, and stay in the US, Europe, Australia, Latin America, etc., usually at locations close to my client. But, I was wondering if one chain (or a couple) do a better job for their frequent stayers (e.g., more reliable upgrades to executive club floors, easier to get free rooms, etc.).

I stay at Hilton, Marriott, IC/CP/HI, Starwood and have the Starwood Amex but also occasionally at Hyatt, Fairmont, Shangri-La, Mandarin Oriental.

I'm active and have elite status in Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott, and Fairmont. For me, the clear winner from this group is Starwood; the points are the most valuable, because they can be used for any standard room without most capacity controls. While it takes a little longer to earn the equivalent of a "standard" award than the other programs do, it takes a *lot* less than an "anytime" award (for the programs that even offer them; I think just Marriott). And the SPG Amex card is by far the best in terms of earning power per dollar spent.

As far as upgrades go, don't count on them in any of the programs unless you reach the top tier. Mid-tiers generally get few or no upgrades, in my experience. And at Fairmont, nobody gets upgrades. Fairmont also does not offer any type of rewards for dollars spent. You can earn, at best, 1 free night per year after 10 stays (or after 5 stays if you're willing to pay for 2 more at the same time). They do give you a few upgrade coupons, but they will likely not cover more than a fraction of your stays if you stay enough to qualify for them.

Other benefits vary from program to program. For me the most useful one is the top-tier ability to get a room when hotels are sold out, but that's really only valuable if you're traveling on business because you'll have to pay full rack rates.

Thanks. I mostly travel on business but like to use points on vacations. I don't remember having a hard time finding hotel rooms except sometimes in London, but the ability to get a room when I need it sounds desirable. I do like the club floors (or rights to use the club room) but don't always get it.

I think I am lower-tier in each place (Silver in Hilton, Gold in SPG, the equivalent in Marriott) so I don't qualify for special treatment. Though I did get chocolate chip cookies at an Embassy Suites last month.

They answer for upgrades is totally different than for free rooms.

The answer for upgrades is (almost) whichever chain you say with consistently! (That's because the highest status, not the best chain, is what gets you upgrades, at least at most of the chains you mentioned. Tho it may vary by territory: for example, at CP/HI, upgrades are much more common in Europe and much less common in the US.)

The answer for free rooms is not a consistent answer. It's "follow the bonuses". Bonus earnings, when around, can far outweigh normal earnings, to the point where normal earnings are almost irrelevant by comparison. The ultimate example of that is those bonuses which get you a free night for every two stays. Hyatt periodically has those as FFN (Free Nights Faster), but what you get (after every two stays) is a limited time voucher for a free weekend night.

Currently, a chain you didn't mention (because it's "lower" than all the ones you mentioned) is the winner in bonuses: midscaler Choice Hotels (Comfort/Quality/etc) has a promo where for every 2 stays you get 8000 points (total), which they claim is enough for a free stay. Well, at some properties, while at other properties you need more than that (say, double), but I know of no other chain giving you a free night for even 4 stays right now. And while you can only earn Choice Priveleges points at those midscale properties in the US and Canada, you can redeem them for Choice or Preferred Hotels properties worldwide. (I know of people who use this program simply to get free stays at Preferred.)

Second place for bonuses right now would be Priority Club (IC/CP/HI/etc), but only if you go to the Priority Club section here and find out about all the current bonuses. (Priority Club tends to have several bonuses simultaneously, but not all of them are easy to find at their website.) Also, you need to be subscribed to their email (as a PC member) to get the most bonuses, since some are targeted and if they don't have you on their list they can't target you. It's also the easiest chain to get to elite statuses with, since you can get there on points (including points from bonuses, points transferred from credit cards, points earned from dining programs, etc, etc), or if you stay at ICs a lot there's a separate elite program you can pay to join. (I know less about that since I tend to stay at their lower properities, as all my stays are on my own dime.)

Thanks, sdsearch. Differentiating between how you get free nights and how you get upgrades is helpful. I run a small high-end consulting firm, which means that our clients pay for our stays at nice hotels. But, when I vacation with my family, I tend to go toward lower end properties some of the time, though in fact I have only redeemed hotel points once in 20 years at a Hilton in Paris for an anniversary trip with my wife. I get emails now from PC and from Choice as well as SPG (I think), but in the past have ignored them. I'll start looking.

To get upgraded, I'd have to choose loyalty over shorter travel time in the mornings. that is a tough one.

This is an excellent analysis of the general situation at this time IMHO. Thanks for sharing a well written summary.