The IRS already collects if points are gifted with a valuation of $600 or more [1]. However, the conventional loyalty program is not a taxable event because it is treated as a rebate tied to a repeated series of sales events.
There are also many other factors in play that you haven't mentioned. The airlines, hotel and rental car companies run special loyalty programs for travel department heads and C-level execs at large customers with a lot of travel needs. These business customers get steep discounts, but push huge volumes (in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and up range) of bookings each week through their preferred vendors. The reward points systems are a lot more attractive at these more rarefied levels than what the traveling public (or corporate rank and file) has access to. I would be surprised if the decision-making didn't take these perquisites into account at least informally during negotiations.
Comments
The IRS already collects if points are gifted with a valuation of $600 or more [1]. However, the conventional loyalty program is not a taxable event because it is treated as a rebate tied to a repeated series of sales events.
There are also many other factors in play that you haven't mentioned. The airlines, hotel and rental car companies run special loyalty programs for travel department heads and C-level execs at large customers with a lot of travel needs. These business customers get steep discounts, but push huge volumes (in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and up range) of bookings each week through their preferred vendors. The reward points systems are a lot more attractive at these more rarefied levels than what the traveling public (or corporate rank and file) has access to. I would be surprised if the decision-making didn't take these perquisites into account at least informally during negotiations.
[1] http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/irs-taxable-inco...