Mickey do you ever take the pricing you get from 3rd party sites and then go directly to the hotel brands website to compare?
As one who mostly uses Marriott brands or Hyatt, I feel I get better benefit from their own reward programs than from a 3rd party. I also believe the little extras from booking direct as a loyalty member are worth it. Things like upgrades and not getting walked on an overbooked night.
Marriott claims to match the prices from 3rd party sellers but I’ll be honest I’ve never put the legwork in to see how many opportunities there are to utilize it.
https://help.marriott.com/s/article/Article-22050
I recently have been checking out “bookaahotels.com” which is powered by booking.com to determine if the extra American Airlines miles and loyalty points are worth it. As the airlines are moving toward total spend instead of just flight miles, it’s a new game trying to gain/keep status with them.
In any case, great subject to discuss.