Hotel rewards are my biggest "money makers."
First of all I sign up for and attempt to maximize every promotion. For instance, my Accelerate promo for IHG was crap this quarter. The Hilton one was great. So I stayed in a ton of Hilton properties the first quarter. Also rewards stays counted for their promotion, which is big for me at the beginning of the year because.....
I also attempt to use rewards when it's smart. I know all of the "cheap" hotels in the areas I travel a lot. For instance I know that the Hampton Inn in Winnie, TX is only 10k points a night and I know the Candlewood Suites in New Iberia, LA is only 5,000 points. Anytime those fit into my travel plans I use them instead of paying.
I also tend to stockpile rewards over the summer and fall and use them the beginning of the year. That worked out great this year because the Hilton promotion included stays from rewards points. It's the middle of April and I have paid for 2 hotel stays this year out of pocket. The rest have been rewards or shops. Not being able to claim the expense for those sucks, but not having to spend the money makes up for it.
I also ensure I do at least 1 shop every year that upgrades me to top tier status for the chains those shops are available for. If I only stay at a chain enough to make silver, that gives a 25% bonus on points, but instead am platinum that gives a 100% bonus on points, then I have boosted rewards for every stay for that year by 62.5%. If you average a free night every 5th stay that drops it down to a free night every 3rd stay.
I keep a spreadsheet with rewards information, including promotions on my OneDrive.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind