For almost two years I split stays across Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. I collected points everywhere and meaningful status nowhere. This season I reviewed my past bookings and forced a practical decision.
My actual travel pattern
- Mostly 2-4 night city stays
- Occasional airport overnight stop
- Only one or two premium leisure stays per year
Once I looked at real behavior, the answer got simpler.
How each program felt in real use
Marriott had the widest location coverage in my usual destinations. Hilton often had flexible cancellation and decent city-center availability. Hyatt offered strong redemption value in some cases, but fewer convenient options for my routes.
Why I stopped chasing "best value" headlines
Point value math looks great in blog tables. But if you cannot consistently find properties where you travel, those points are theory. I now optimize for availability + convenience first.
Framework that worked for me
- Pull your last 10-15 stays
- Count where you actually stayed, not where you wanted to
- Choose one primary program for 70-80% of nights
- Keep one backup brand only
My result
I consolidated into one primary program and booking decisions became faster. Even without top-tier status, consistency improved benefits and reduced booking fatigue.
If your travel is irregular, simplicity wins. A good-enough program you actually use beats a perfect program you rarely touch.
What improved after I consolidated stays
Check-in decisions became faster. Support conversations were easier because booking history was in one ecosystem. Even without chasing elite status, I got more predictable outcomes.
Consistency gave more practical value than occasional high-theory redemptions.