The problem with the advice "go for the points" is that is often causes otherwise illogical behaviour. Sometimes, even often, "the tail wags the dog."
We stay at hotels that might not be the best value or location for the points that we can earn to our favorite program.

And with airline FF programs, it is far easier to see examples of illogical action. We all have been guilty of passing up another carrier's multiple nonstop flights to our desired destination and opting instead for our favorite carrier's connecting flights. Not only does that create a journey that is at least a couple of hours longer, it always raises the possibility of a misconnect. But we get FF miles that count toward attaining the Holy Grail of elite status.