[ed_balls]

Not really. Some loyalty programs could give you tax free value e.g. booking a hotel with points. A company can negotiate a better price for a given service, since it will be bought in bulk.

[sct202]

Points like that are frequently devalued thru worse conversion rates or increased barriers to using the points.

[ceejayoz]

As with tokens, loyalty programs have a long history of devaluing points without warning.