The person who declines a reward may still keep the status that came with being offered it.

Refusing a prize can leave the reputation intact. Everyone now knows you were chosen and that you were the sort of person who declined, which can be worth more than the thing you turned down, and the gesture may be genuine while still functioning as an advantage. The status arrived with the offer, not with the acceptance.

Worth noticing in yourself: when you decline something publicly, what do you keep. If the answer is a better version of what you gave up, that is fine as long as you are honest about it. Say no quietly when you can, and be careful with the modesty that gets talked about.