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You will probably find yourself developing a preference for that chain as the card will give you status and bonus points for every stay.
Rising Star
Depends on the chain, the sign up bonus, and the ongoing benefits.
I'm not loyal to any chain and rarely travel for work. If I'm using points, I stay at Hyatts. If I'm not, I'll stay wherever makes sense in terms of quality/price/location (when I'm abroad, that often means nice local hotels, as western brands are usually overpriced).
Even though I like Hyatt, I won't get the Hyatt card. The bonus is terrible and the annual free night doesn't make sense for me since it only goes up to cat 4. Instead, it makes more sense to open Chase cards, which have higher bonuses, then transfer those points to Hyatt.
I did recently open the Chase Marriott Boundless because the bonus was 5 free nights, which is the best they offer. The public offer is down to 3 nights now, but referrals still give 5 for the next few days. That alone is worth the $95 fee, since even a not-so-great redemption is easily worth $1.3k+. The annual free night isn't that great, but after a year you can downgrade to the free Bold card or upgrade to Ritz.
Hyatt offers 9x points on stays if paying with the Hyatt card, and 1 free Cat 4 night/yr.
Rising Star
Technically it is only 4x. Everyone gets 5x just for being a member, regardless of how you pay.
As for the cert, been harder and harder to find cat 4 hotels that are decent, but obviously YMMV.
I opened the Marriott card for 5 free nights when they had an offer. I have no status with them. Used it for free hotel by Disneyland for our family trip! Totally worth it.