Exactly you ARE earning it. You are away from home and away from your family and you are working. And when myself or one of my employees travel for business a lot of times it is last minute and a more expensive fare or room rate than what a leisure traveller is paying.

More than likely you are working in your hotel room at night time as a business traveller so you are earning it then. When I fly for business I am earning it because most of the time I am doing work in the air or at the skyclub while the lesiure traveller on a cheaper fare is able to keep kicking back free booze.

And loyalty programs probably wouldn't exist if points and miles only went to people paying on their own dime and not getting reimbursed since this would be leisure travellers who wouldn't give enough revenue to a hotel chain or airline chain to make a difference. You are going to have very few lesiure travellers spending 60+ nights a year with a hotel chain or flying 125K+ miles a year and if they can afford to travel that much they can probably afford to book the type of room they want.

A hotel is going to want a business traveller who may have a firm paying high rates and sending five employees to their property five nights a week regardless of who is paying over a AAA leisure traveller who stays 2 nights a year total. If the business travellers are upgraded and treated right they are going to be a lot more likely to return and chances are they use services such as laundry and room service as well which have a HUGE markup to the hotel