Leveraging loyalty program assets for cash has been crucial for airlines and hotel operators as they battle the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In April, Hilton presold $1 billion worth of loyalty points to American Express, the hotel company’s co-brand credit card partner. In June, United Airlines announced that it had secured a $5.00-billion loan (upsized to $6.80 billion) arranged by Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley using its MileagePlus program as collateral. The airline estimated the value of the MileagePlus program at $21.90 billion. In September, Delta Airline...