Travelers now have an increasing number of tools, strategies and options to master how to stack loyalty points and take advantage of loyalty program perks across airlines, hotels, credit cards and more. The trajectory is predicted to keep rising as loyalty programs grow in value. In 2025 the market size of global tourism industry loyalty programs attained a value of $30 billion and is projected to reach $65 billion by 2035.

For business travelers the path to accruing points and building status is potentially faster than for leisure travelers because work trips generate high-value spending which often reaps more rewards. Elite status can open the door to perks such as guaranteed late hotel check-out and airport lounge access.

Other traditional ways to leverage loyalty perks include accumulating points or miles for future free flights or hotel stays, securing free upgrades for flights and hotels using status or points, and gaining access using loyalty perks for priority check-in and boarding to save time.

Business travelers can also strategize when to use their points, whether for personal travel during peak seasons, to take advantage of international upgrades, or to use them to offset vacation costs.

“Everybody has a different trigger for their loyalty, and so it’s important for the brand to have a variety of ways to interact through those programs, to try to catch the widest swath of people,” said Max Kenkel, Customer Solutions manager, ITA Group, which partners with brands to foster deeper customer relationships.

One way to maximize benefits is for travelers to use airline or hotel apps, which with the help of AI and other data analytics can curate offerings to their members with hyper-personalized experiences. Data collected by loyalty programs can lead to tailored itineraries, hotel stays or activity suggestions as well as exclusive access to special events, V.I.P. passes or unique travel itineraries. Credit card apps such as the American Express App also allow users to take advantage of travel rewards.

CO-BRANDED CREDIT CARDS
Still, the most popular way both businesses and business travelers can take advantage of loyalty perks is with traditional co-branded airline or hotel credit cards. American Airlines was the first in the industry to launch the modern frequent-flyer program, introducing AAdvantage in 1981. Today, as a member of the AAdvantage Business program, businesses earn AAdvantage miles and travelers can earn loyalty points when booking business travel on the airline’s website, app or through an agency.

For example, the Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard can earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles for its business after $5,000 in purchases within the first month of opening, while each card member earns loyalty points or miles for money spent on business card purchases. Businesses can also earn miles when employees use their card for purchases. The AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard offers some similar perks.

PHOTO: © DELTA AIR LINES

Delta SkyMiles is popular with business travelers for its Medallion Status tiers that grant free upgrades, access to Sky Club lounges and priority boarding. Delta SkyMiles business cards let businesses add up to 99 employee cards and earn miles on employee purchases. Each card type — such as the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Amex or Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Amex Card — has its own cost-saving perks.

United Airlines’ business cards help save on business travel and let employees earn miles as MileagePlus members and reach Premier status to receive added benefits. United Business Card and United Club Business Card offer perks such as free checked bags and more miles per dollar on purchases than a non-business United card.

Other airlines offer their own co-branded business cards with similar perks, including the Atmos Rewards Visa Business card for Alaska Airlines and the JetBlue Business Card.

Worldwide, British Airways Executive Club awards members with Avios points, allowing travelers to cash in for flights, seat upgrades and hotel stays. Members can use rewards for its program’s partner network, which includes Qatar Airways.

For hotels, Hilton Honors offers a robust program for business travelers including its American Express co-branded credit cards. Business travelers can also achieve elite status with the Hilton Honors Surpass Card for Gold status or Aspire card for Diamond status. Other perks include Emerald Club Executive status with National Car Rental, free night rewards and no foreign transaction fees.

PHOTO: © PHOTOGRAPHER LONDON | DREAMSTIME.COM

Other worldwide chains such as Marriott Bonvoy offer similar perks through their co-branded cards including the Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card, which features such perks as free room nights and complimentary Gold Elite status along with priority room upgrades, V.I.P. concierge services and special access to luxury properties.

Meanwhile, the Chase co-branded IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card earns points for everything from money spent on social media to delivery and takeout, and offers cardholders automatic Platinum Elite status.

BANKING INSTITUTIONS
While co-branded cards remain popular with business travelers, banks and other institutions offer more flexibility and similar benefits with their own cards, including bonus points for dining, exclusive access to airport lounges and faster options to achieve elite status. Programs like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One Miles offer transfers to dozens of partners.

With Chase Ultimate Rewards, cardholders can pay with points on purchases through Amazon.com, the Apple Ultimate Rewards Store, gift cards or other options like getting cash back into a bank account or as statement credit.

Some of the Chase cards, like the new Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business Card, earn the business credits and perks that can be passed on to travelers, while the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve lets business travelers directly earn points on purchases. It also lets them take advantage of Chase’s Sapphire Lounge by the Club airport lounges and gives money toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership.

“There are amenities that only airlines can provide, such as early boarding, baggage and perhaps better seating,” said Jay Sorensen, president, IdeaWorksCompany, which researches airline loyalty programs for the airline industry. “Banks can attempt some of these through statement credits when the service is purchased from the airline, but it’s an awkward message for cardholders.”

For smoother transactions, banks also offer their own booking platforms such as Citi Travel for Citi ThankYou Rewards and Capital One Travel, which lets cardholders earn miles per dollar spent on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through the site.

It’s also possible to transfer miles or credits to partner airlines and hotels. Capitol One, for instance, offers two boutique hotel programs: the Lifestyle Collection and Premier Collection. The latter is a luxury hotel collection on par with the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts Program and Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection. For the Premier Collection, cardholders need to have either the Capitol One Venture X Rewards card or the Capitol One Venture X Business card.

American Express Membership Rewards offers many options, including redeeming points through its American Express Travel site for hotels, car rentals, flights, gift cards and more. Worldwide partners for transferring points include Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer and Emirates Skywards.

Business travelers can also save using blockchain-based loyalty programs such as Stash Hotel Rewards, which focuses on independent boutique properties booked on the Stash Rewards website.

LOYALTY PARTNERSHIPS
One of the keys to leveraging loyalty perks is researching loyalty program partnerships. “If you are even moderately traveling, by looking not just at the brand itself, but who their partners are,” Kenkel said, “that can unlock a lot of additional benefits for you that you might be leaving on the table.”

For example, in 2025 American Airlines’ AAdvantage program began to partner with World of Hyatt to offer more flexibility leveraging perks. The World of Hyatt Business Card and World of Hyatt Card also offer unique partnership perks such as points for money spent on gym memberships and local transit.

Airlines often partner with rideshare companies, such as Delta SkyMiles with Uber and United MileagePlus with Lyft. Airline dining networks such as Delta SkyMiles Dining and AAdvantage Dining allow travelers to earn miles by choosing participating restaurants for client dinners.

Hilton Honors members also have the opportunity to accrue and redeem points through Lyft and Amazon. Loyalty program partnerships can also lead to exclusive offers such as Accor Live Limitless’ V.I.P. access to concert and sporting events.

For business travelers, strategizing the myriad options on how to leverage their loyalty perks can lead to added savings and comfort on the road.