Gadling

Be careful, though, loyalty can become a trap. I've been very fortunate in my experiences with Marriott (Platinum, just shy of 100 nights so far this year), but I've had a few trips where the only Marriott close to where I needed/wanted to be had issues (price, quality, cleanliness, etc.). Complaints to corporate offices can sometimes resolve these, but if they don't you may be stuck if you want to keep earning your status and points.

The nice thing about loyalty, though, is that I'm currently staying a top-notch property in Alpharetta GA. I'm on the preferred floors every single week, and the desk clerks greet me by name when I walk in the door. On top of that I've been earning ridiculous amounts of points that have allowed me to take my wife to a luxurious suite in Manhattan at the Hotel 57 (a Rennaisance property) and early next year we're spending two weeks in a 5-star resort in Phuket, Thailand with no out of pocket costs for the accomodation.

Spreading your loyalty around has its benefits if all you're interested in is elite status. Once I hit Platinum with Marriott I could have started staying at the nearby Doubletree or Hyatt Place to pick up status in another program, but then my points would be spread all over the place and I wouldn't have much opportunity to enjoy the benefits of status and earning points at 1.5 times the normal rate.

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