Both are important, however on a day to day basis with a LOT of hotel stays the status is more important. While I am a member of all the programs, as not every chain has properties where I go, or sometimes one brand has has a significantly better property or better location, so I have elite status with multiple chains, but I do have one I favor.

As we all know many "nice" hotels and normally excellent brands have some nasty rooms at some of their property. I have had the misfortune of getting rooms at the Ritz Carlton that a Days Inn wouldn't tolerate.

Generally speaking with status you never have to endure these rooms, even when you arrive in the wee hours after several flight delays. Also when you have status you will get a room with short notice at a full hotel, and it will be a nice room. Usually the hotel sees you have high status, and either out of respect to that, or they know you know who to call when you don't get the room you requested. With status they assume you will show up, and block the room rather than trying to sell it a second time to improve the bottom line.

Status is the juice that keeps you from getting the shaft when the hotel makes a mistake, and most hotels do make mistakes frequently.

So while I do like the points, knowing I won't always get the room next to the ice machine is more important. Lounge access, free wifi, free breakfast, a room on the "executive floor" which are usually rooms in better shape because they are normally used by us road warriors who have better things to do with our time than to damage a hotel room during a wild party, or to run up and down the hall annoying the other guests. The welcome gift, be it the fruit or cheese plate, or even just the free bottle of water goes along way for me to be loyal to a chain, and the costs of these items are just pennies versus how much I spend on hotel rooms every year.

I would also tend to think the hotels have figured this out, and realize that the vast majority of their elite-level guests are the type of guests they want in their hotel.

So the points are the cake, and the elite benefits are the icing on the cake. One without the other, not so good, but you put them together and you have something worthwhile.