I was very much in to Marriot, cause my parents pass me points to use when they dont use them, and the 70k offer with 1 free 1-5 category and i couldnt find any category 1-5 hotels I'd stay in Miami/NYC/London/Paris or any of the islands I'd like to head too. So i did a little more looking at IHG, and they have quite a few hotels in Miami (Z Hotel) Crowne Plazas in time Sqaure, and a few in downtown london and Paris, Im very happy that I did some more research after looking at an approval in the approval thread for Marriot, and have decided to go with IHG.
*Bonus
Elite Platinum Status is
Free Internet
Compimentary Room Upgrades
Priority Check-in
Wish it included breakfast, maybe down the road.
Make sure you check the IHG promotions out. They run a ton of promotions and you can usually register for multiple ones and have the points stack.
Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)