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.
Ronniebock48
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.
Every year, thousands of travelers sit through a timeshare presentation promising decades of guaranteed vacations, only to later discover that a well-chosen loyalty program might have delivered the same lifestyle without the mortgage-sized commitment.