Loyalty points are supposed to reward changed behavior, and compensate you for the cost of that change (like booking a pricier HIlton room over the cheaper Holiday Inn next door). Ancillary/adjunct earning opportunities that cost you nothing -- presumably you would have spent that $20,000 on stuff anyway -- cheapen the proposition. Credit card bonuses and monthly dumps, especially, run up HHonors balances without requiring any loyalty to Hilton. Too many points in the system, not enough loyalty, everyone suffers. Like I said, currency (program) mismanagement.

Excellent point. We might pray for a sale, in fact, to some entity that understands both loyalty and the hospitality business. Blackstone clearly doesn't.