Is there a practical difference between using Polo and HitBTC? I don't plan on being a very high frequency trader; I'm mostly in this for the long run. I just want to make a big initial purchase and then adjust sporadically with buys or sells. Is there for me any benefit in choosing one over the other?
Now you have plenty exchanges trading Monero. Not sure why you mention just this two, but if you pick between those two Poloniex is way better and safer choice.