[Prophet in the wilderness]

" Drag & fuel consumption would go up, but safety should not have been compromised. "
Yes, that would be the only thing that would happen, if ? only the plane was not fitted with the wingtips.
But ? in this case, another plane hitting the wing, there could be major or minor fractures in the wing that could compromise the structural integrity of the wing.
The old versions of the 747 i.e. 747-100 747-200 747-300 didn't have the wing tips, so, it could fly without them.

[A.A. Cunningham]

They're called winglets

not wing tips.