I have done heavy travel both doing sales and consulting. The travel was different.

In my case, it was almost all US & Canada in both roles.

As a consultant, most travel is week-long, and often to the same destination for weeks or months at a time. You have the time to fully explore your destination city, but you can also easily get bored of it. And if you're stuck in a less-desirable location, well, you're stuck. I've had gigs in Chicago and New York, but also Rochester MN, Camp Hill PA, and Kalamazoo MI.

On the sales side, most travel was in the form of a one night stay, sometimes 2 nights, and occasionally day trips. Sometimes 1 trip a week, sometimes 2 or 3. You get the "excitement" of travel, the chance to briefly see what the destination city looks like, a nice dinner out, and are quickly back home in the comfort of your own bed. But you rarely have time to properly explore your destination city.

In my industry (software), sales trips were rarely solo. It was usually a pairing of the Sales Guy and the Techie. So there was usually company for both the flight and for dinner. As a consultant, many gigs are solo, which can get lonely at times.

As a consultant, the week-long stays meant that hotel points piled up quick, but that top-tier airline status is unreachable. Doing sales, the opposite is true. The more frequent trips with shorter stays mean the miles come quicker than the nights.