Sorry I have been busy all day and had no time to reply. First of all, I am not *wood bashing. I love *wood hotels, have stayed in them for the last ten years and will continue to stay in them till I retire (and then hopefully when I retire I will stay there too). I just feel that these loyalty programs are benefits for us being the ones that stay there.
They are actually taxable benefits when you use them for free stays (at least in Canada). Whether you declare these benefits or not is a personal issue.
As for the car thing, we all hope our bosses drive nice cars as we aspire to be in those roles one day, but for now some of us are not. I was more trying to prove a point and sorry for going off topic there.
I also stay at Hilton properties and because of my status (yes some of this was earned on personal stays), I get offered free internet, 1000 HH Points or something else sometimes. I can't remember which is which because HH is not as consistent as *wood or maybe I have trouble remembering the different hotel options. But is it wrong for me to take the 1000 HH points as opposed to internet?