Should Luxury Travel Advisors Become Loyalty Program Experts?

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We were already finished with lunch. I asked for the check.

Then a very experienced travel advisor on my team says, "We should communicate loyalty program optimization in our credentials. I can show clients $12,000 in annual value they're leaving on the table. That can be a retainer."

The statement surprised me.

And while I immediately disliked the idea, I was not going to completely antagonize her.

I started saying something… "Well, we should think…" but another advisor intervened.

"If I lead with points and status, I'm telling clients I serve those clients that need to optimize their points. My clients don't optimize. They delegate."

Both advisors are excellent at what they do.
Both are building six-figure practices.
But they're making opposite bets about where advisor value lives in 2026.

I paid the check. We left. And I've been thinking about that conversation for three weeks.

Because here's what makes this question harder than it looks: they're both right.

Why This Question Suddenly Matters

Three forces are converging to make loyalty program expertise either a competitive advantage or a strategic trap.

First, the programs themselves are changing fast. Hotel loyalty membership grew 14.5% in 2024 to 675 million members [1][2]. Loyalty members now book more than 59% of room nights at major chains [1]. But average value per member dropped 5.3%, from $18.85 to $17.85 [1].

Hotels are tightening rewards.
Points expire faster.
Status thresholds keep climbing.

What used to be simple is now complex.

Second, AI can now plan a decent European itinerary for free. 40% of travelers globally already use AI for trip planning in 2025 [3]. ChatGPT can suggest restaurants. Google can plan routes. The basic knowledge that once separated advisors from DIY planners? It's being given away for free.

Third, the luxury segment is splitting. Not all wealthy clients think about travel the same way. Some love optimizing systems. Others want someone else to handle everything. The question isn't whether loyalty matters. It's whether it matters to your client.

That split is where things get interesting.

The Client Reality

Whether loyalty program expertise creates value or kills your positioning depends entirely on who your client actually is.

Clients Who Optimize

Some wealthy travelers genuinely enjoy the game. They track earn rates. They plan credit card strategies. They get satisfaction from unlocking upgrades through smart moves, not just spending power.

For these clients, 68% of luxury travelers say loyalty programs are important when choosing hotels [4].

They're not chasing free nights.
They're chasing recognition.
Status.

The feeling that they've played the system better than everyone else.

An advisor who can show tangible results, "I just unlocked $8,000 in value you weren't using," isn't selling trip planning. They're selling financial consulting. That could be a retainer service. An annual loyalty review. CFO for travel.

Clients Who Want Results

Then there are clients who don't care about optimization. They have money. They want transformation, not points math.

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals prefer quiet luxury: remote, private destinations with personalized service [5]. They're not comparing Marriott points to Hilton points. They're asking which villa in the Maldives their family will remember for the next decade.

For these clients, loyalty programs are background noise.
Relevant if they save time or unlock access.
Irrelevant if they add complexity.

Many luxury travelers care less about collecting points and more about the recognition that comes with being a valued customer [4]. They want great service. People who know their preferences. Not a spreadsheet showing point calculations.

The advisor who leads with loyalty optimization for this group isn't adding value. They're signaling they serve a different tier of client.

The Real Tension

Here's the problem advisors need to think about.

Loyalty programs are designed to create brand loyalty. Hotel chains want guests coming back to Hyatt or Marriott. They've spent billions building this.

Advisors need to create advisor loyalty. You want clients coming back to you, not to a points balance.

Sometimes those goals align. If you're the person who manages their entire travel strategy, maximizes their credit cards, and makes sure they're getting value from every trip, you've made yourself essential. Hard to replace.

Sometimes they compete. Every time you recommend a hotel because "they have Gold status there" instead of "this is the best property for what you want to do," you've told the client that Marriott's system matters more than your judgment.

You've become a helper for hotel brands, not a trusted advisor.

The question isn't whether that's right or wrong. The question is whether you're aware of which one you're building.

The Better Questions

Stop asking "should I learn loyalty programs?"

Ask these instead:

Where do I create value that can't be automated or absorbed by brands?

AI can suggest trips. The AI in the tourism market is projected to hit $13.9 billion by 2030 [3]. OTAs spend billions making booking easy. Hotel chains control status systems.

You don't control any of that.

So what do you own?

What will make me hard to replace in five years?

If loyalty program knowledge becomes expected, every advisor with a weekend and a spreadsheet can claim it. You're not different anymore.

But if you can show real financial returns on travel spending. If you can take a $60,000 annual travel budget and optimize it across multiple systems, credit cards, and strategies, that might be consulting, not trip planning.

Am I building on land I don't own?

This is the uncomfortable one. If your positioning depends on Marriott Bonvoy or Chase Sapphire staying generous, you've built on rented land. Programs change. Rules shift. What happens when the game you mastered changes overnight?

The advisors who survive those shifts are the ones whose value lives in judgment, relationships, and access that exists separate from any brand's loyalty system.

No Answer. Just Clarity.

There is no universal answer here.

There's an advisor in Seattle who built a $200,000 annual practice optimizing travel for tech executives. Loyalty mastery is the core service. It works because her clients value optimization as a skill.

There's an advisor in Austin who focuses only on transformative family travel to Africa. She doesn't lead with loyalty programs because her clients don't optimize systems. They optimize for memories.

Both are thriving. Neither is wrong.

The risk isn't choosing the wrong path. The risk is drifting into a position without knowing what you're building.

In 2026, as loyalty membership grows faster than hotel room supply [2] and AI handles basic planning, the advisors who figure this out first won't be the ones with the best loyalty knowledge.

They'll be the ones who know exactly where their value lives.

And they'll have chosen that position on purpose, not by accident.

Your Turn

I honestly don't know where I land on this yet. But I'm curious where you do.

I'll share the results and my take in next week's newsletter.

A small group of advisors and I are going deeper on questions like this inside The Guild, The Expert's Guild Community, starting later this month. If you want to know when that opens, hit reply and let me know.

Otherwise, just curious where you land on the loyalty question.

Alex

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_{Sources:
[1] - OysterLink
[2] - CBRE
[3] - The Cloud People
[4] - McKinsey & Company
[5] - AltexSoft}