Lots of good advice there. My company paid $500 a year for me to be in USAirways Club Lounges, and I never used it. You cannot bring food into the lounge, so if you want to grab a bite on during your layover, you are SOL. Terminals are pretty well out fitted with outlets and work desks these days, I see no reason for the lounges.
GET Global Entry. It includes TSA PreCheck and is worth its wait in gold. (yes, I spelled it wait instead of weight, see what I did there?)
AVOID the low-cost leaders like Budget, Thrifty, Dollar, Payless, Advantage and local ones you never heard of. They offer long lines, poor service and if you have a problem, you are SOL. You will NEVER have an issue with Hertz, but they cost more. I like National and their Emerald Aisle, so fast and easy, no lines, good rates and I often get bumped to a premium car. I have stuck with them for many years and have never had a problem.
HILTON offers the a good mix of properties IMHO. You have to make sure you can find options in small towns, so Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton and Homewood give you good ways to get points that you can spend use on a Hilton Vacation property later.
CHOICE HOTELS has the most options of all, and the cheapest. They offer a "stay 2 separate nights and get one night free" promotion. I used to stay in a different hotel each night, even in the same town, just to rack up free nights. Used to be that you never knew if your hotel would be brand-new and really nice, or an old, run-down Holiday Inn from the 60's. These days, most of their properties, if not all, are decent. (Check any Econo-Lodge or Roadway Inn online first however...)
NEVER pay for WiFi, Parking or Breakfast. And remember, you have everything you need on the breakfast buffet to pack yourself a lunch with a PB&J, some fruit and a drink. : ) I got so sick of restaurants and take-out that I travelled with a small cooler. Stop at a grocery store early in the week and buy a box of cereal, some bread, lunchmeat and drinks. Makes breakfast and lunch easier. Hotels usually include a small fridge, and they always have ice.
AAA membership: you'd be surprised how often it comes in handy for discounts.
ASK for deals. You'd be surprised how often you can get deals just by asking if the hotel or car company is running any kind of special.
Get the APP. I use FlightTrack, HipMunk, GateGuru, SeatGuru, Apps from the Airlines and of course, Apple Wallet. Getting updates about delays and gate changes as they happen is awesome and has more than once saved me headaches. I also like to choose my own seat on the plane and my hotel room (Hilton!) There are a lot of cool travel tools out there these days.