When elite status and stacks of points fail to deliver, what actually separates a great hotel loyalty program from a mediocre one is how its people treat you when things go sideways.
Points and miles get all the glory, but the unsung hero of smart travel planning is what happens when things go wrong - a cancelled flight, a lost bag, a sudden illness abroad.
Your smartphone has quietly become the single most powerful tool in luxury travel, and nowhere is that more obvious than in how top-tier hotel brands now handle loyalty.