The consequence has been that my award stays at Hilton hotels far exceed my regular paid stays at Hilton hotels, and regular paid stays that would previously go to Hilton hotels have been diverted to other chains.

Customers who run down their loyalty program account's high balance into a very low balance are amongst the most likely frequent customers to board another loyalty program's ship. I'm no exception to that -- with Hyatt, Starwood, Radisson, Choice, LHW having all gained at Hilton's expense.