Some hotels do look at status. I booked Wyndham Grand in Pittsburgh for a weekend Pirates game ~a week in advance on points and was upgraded to a corner, river view, higher floor room 2 days before arrival.

It was my only upgrade in a Wyndham property this year but I'd been mostly in Hawthornes for ~6 months

It was also my only points booking this year and I just cashed the rest of them (~160k) in on Amazon gift cards

I can hear a few of you screaming at me...