What is your home airport?
What fares you normally fly?

The fact that you do not collect miles is your main mistake. I presume you do not belong to a frequent flyer air program, as much as a hotel program.

In short, the more you use them, the more you accumulate, the better the rewards later on. Simple. What airline flies to where you go, what hotel chain you stay at? If you concentrate your travel to one main air carrier and one main hotel chain, enroll in their programs, you will start maximizing your rewards. It is not that difficult to do this.