The ability to manage more than one loyalty point/mile currency - this is not a fundamental requirement of a loyalty program but many programs are now allowing customers to choose which loyalty currency they want to earn.

The ability to load products or services that can be acquired by loyalty program members with their points - this is not a fundamental requirement of a loyalty program, but most programs will have a rewards catalog (in some cases provided by a 3rd party vendor)

The database that stores all loyalty transactions with customers including balance - no points program can exist without this feature

The ability to enable the exchange between loyalty currencies - this is a useful feature but not a fundamental requirement of a loyalty program

Save your rewards towards a future stay at a participating hotel

Donate your rewards to a favorite charitable cause

Redeem your rewards via Paypal or gift card

Join a network of independent hotels to grow the value of your loyalty program and attract like-minded travelers who have stayed at similar hotels to yours.

Enables the definition of rules to issue loyalty points based on purchase or activity engagement with customers. - this is a fundamental feature as no program can function without a rules engine.

The ability to add one or more partners who also issue the same loyalty currency and which enables visibility into the partners' activities with customers. While not a fundamental requirement, most programs are expanding to include many partners issuing the same loyalty currency

The ability for other systems to access the loyalty platform to issue, transfer, redeem, or exchange loyalty points/miles - this is not a fundamental requirement of a loyalty program, but increasingly desirable.