But is she a Thought Leader?

Without wishing to state the obvious, but giving someone status they won't use much is not expensive.

If Marriott wanted to give me free Plat I'd take it, and may think more kindly of them, but as I average 0.5 Marriott nights per year it would be virtually free for them.

It can be, if the unintentional consequence makes their actual customer base feel alienated and passed over. As mentioned before, I read about a someone with over 4M tier points with Mlife who wasn't invited to Noir and could never seem to get a straight answer as to why he/she had not yet been asked. When they found out it was being offered to mattress runners, they almost blew a fuse. After many months and threatening to switch casinos that weren't affiliated, they finally got asked.

Scott, too.

Thanks for the link. It was a nice trip report, although I found it kind of ironic that given he was gifted the status, he pretty much clueless as to the perks and benefits of it; or where/how/ to redeem/utilize it. It's something that wouldn't be an issue to someone who earned to through actual gaming.

a ton of people got the m life status, there was coverage of that
every single person/blogger who attended event at mansion or something

i do not really understand what you are trying to convey here

"dystopian" ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopia

lessons may include changing hotels, rental cars, airport transfers

re LAS check-ins, at bellagio can book suite and get lounge check-in

The correlating statement in the miles/points game is that a top tier elite in and airline program should know all the benefits of that status because they earned it. That is far from reality IME. Most folks don't know all the benefits and often do not have reason to know all of them.

Maybe not in the airline programs, but in terms of actual 'players' in Vegas, they have casino hosts who actively contact them with promotional offers and comps , on top of whatever amenities their status provides them. By the time they have raised to the level of a coveted Noir status , they have spent a lot of time there and dropped a lot of coin.

They all got it at the launch party for the Mlife-Hyatt partnership, effectively as a thank you for coming to the launch and writing about the partnership. It was supposed to be a one year thing, but it seems some of them have had it extended.

There was a great story about 3-4 of them hitting a $5 BJ table with their new cards and the pit boss having no idea what to do with them.

LOL- I would love to read it. Any idea where I can find it. :)

If the point above is that a distopian experience can in some measure, or even largely, be self-inflicted, I'm not going to disagree. It all still made for an interesting read.

I'll also point out that giving away status can sometimes win loyalty, i.e., business. I was given several years' worth of Gold status at Hilton some time ago, and I've been a (lower-tiered) loyalist ever since. And then, today, thanks to Amex . . . .

Here is the thing about casino status.... It all means basically "nothing." Since if you "really" have status you know it. You do not stand in lines. You do not use the "$20 trick." Everything is assigned. Everything is setup. It's all seamless. It's not really the "status" that gets you this, it's the host assigned to your account. Believe me, my experience at Cosmopolitan is a LOT different than Marriott Platinums or even Top Tier Identity. In essence, it just does NOT matter. It's just wallet candy.

In some ways, it can also work to your detriment on the casino floor. Having a very high status (like NOIR) with no theo to back it up just looks strange. Like, really strange. So, if you ask for something, it's going to be a weird exchange. For example, if you want a few packs of comp cigarettes or a $60++ drink while playing. Someone is going to invariably swipe you card and not really understand what is going on... and most likely decline the discretionary comp.

Anyway, just my 2cents; since I've paid very close attention to such things for the past 10+ years.

I would agree that Las Vegas itself is certainly dystopian, but not necessarily the trip report.

baccarat_king, linked noir trip report (not mommypoints) was amusing along those lines

MikeE discussed access to villa services during paid stay in encore duplex
http://vegastripping.com/features/fe...feature_id=191

joel robuchon, guy savoy, pierre gagnaire

four seasons, mandarin oriental

im guessing im not 'up' on how dystopian is used these days

I 100% agree with you, that those with earned status generally know their worth via their casino host, with offers and comps.