Ahh, you bring up a good point Rebelyell.
Given the specials, is it best to be promiscuous with hotel programs and chase the specials instead of status to try and earn the most number of free nights?

Vanessa, that's a personal decision. This may not apply to all women, but to my wife lounge access can be important. My wife has really enjoyed having a glass of wine in the lounge whereas she might not feel comfortable sitting at the hotel bar alone. She'll even make a small supper out of the appetizers and stay in and get a lot of work done.

My personal opinion is that it is better to shop around for specials. But if you travel a lot you still can have one main chain and then take advantage of everyone else's special offers. My wife has renewed her Hilton Diamond with 30 stays this year. She got Marriott Gold on a status match, and even though the match was good through the end of 2014 it looks like she will have 50 Marriott nights this year. She's also posting a few Club Carlson and Priority Club nights; just enough for the specials. She almost never stays with SPG, just because she can't; they aren't around.

Yes, I'm not really excited about sitting at a bar by myself. I'll have to take my fiance on some more trips with me :)
Ok, lots to think about. I think this next year I'm going to focus on one chain, and see what the experience is like. I'll make MR Gold (maybe Plat depending on year end travel), so should have lots of opportunity to try this out next year.

As I've been thinking about this, I'm willing to pay a little bit more to be treated better. Because at the end of the day the free nights are just money, but the way you're treated is an experience. And while I'm making money I'll trade it for experiences :)