Sorry for not replying sooner:

So this ended up being a little off the norm.

I ended up using the World Elite MC program instead of the Visa Signature, because it had better terms than Visa Signature and also had a lower rate offered. What I--and the World Elite MC rep I was talking to--did not realize was that it was a pre-paid rate.

So a few things ended up happening: A) I got locked into a pre-paid stay. Which was fine, but I would have liked to have known this beforehand. Still, the World Elite MC rep offered to cancel it as soon as I discovered it was pre-paid if I wanted to. I stayed with it, since I was pretty sure I wouldn't have reason to cancel. B) I called Andaz to ensure I was getting all the benefits. They said 'no', because it was a pre-paid rate and on pre-paid rates, you apparently don't get the World Elite MC benefits.

I called my World Elite MC rep and told him this and he initiated contact with Andaz. It actually ended up taking a couple of weeks for them to sort it out--thankfully, I'd made the reservation well in advance.

In the end it all worked out and it was a wonderful stay and I got all the MC World Elite benefits. But it only worked out because I was totally on top of the situation, monitoring each step of it and because I had that extra lead time to ensure the snafus could be corrected.

I have to say, I wasn't super-thrilled with how it was handled, but for the rates and benefits I got, it was worth it and I'd consider using MC World Elite again.

Back to Visa Signature: The main difference is that you just book online (I suppose you can call in; for MC World Elite, you HAVE to call in because they don't offer bookings online). So in some ways, I am guessing you'll run into less problems.