59Impala

Just received an e-mail that I have been matched to M-Life NOIR status - anybody else?
in the T&C of WOH, it is still stated that Globalists are matched to GOLD.

VegasGambler

Wow, that is awesome. Congrats. I am shocked that they would do this.

I got matched the other way (Noir -> Diamond) a few years back. This is a little less surprising IMO.

Would you mind sharing your night count and base pts?

Noir is difficult to get... it's invite-only, and when I got it I was actually on the borderline (I had to ask my host) with 5-digit average trip theo. I stopped playing about 2 years ago... I'm not sure if things have changed since then though.

59Impala

I was surprised myself. I am not a typical Vegas traveler. I do not gamble. This year I had 2 rooms at 3 nights. The 1 and 2 bedroom penthouse suite at the Vdara. That is it.

I requalified for Globalist in Summer with 43 nights but above 100k points.

maybe it is intended to be an incentive? Won,t be able to make much use in 2019... not even the complementary airport transfer... I usually would arrive by rental car...

FlyingKansan

That is insane, as mentioned above, NOIR is invite only. Used to be quite the gambler myself, gave up on NOIR after not being invited multiple years in a row and went to Total Rewards. Reached Seven Star (the equivalent) my first year. Hope that gives you some indication as to how hard it is to reach NOIR.

OnAMileHigh

I too was shocked to receive this offer. Looking forward to trying out the Noir benefits on my next trip to Las Vegas! If I am reading the e-mail T&C's correctly, the status is good through September 2020.

VegasGambler

I'm guessing it's the base pts, especially if they are not on corporate rates.

If you are paying hundreds of dollars a night out of pocket to stay in hotels, they may figure that you are a good candidate to drop some money in the casino

Honestly Noir is not worth that much unless you play machines. If you are a gambler you are already getting all the benefits (limo rides, priority reservations, guaranteed room availability) from your host long before you make Noir. If you are a machine player (slots or video poker) the extra pts have real value.

I don't even think Noir guarantees you lounge access -- your stay has to be coded for lounge access when it's made, and I think that can only be done by a host.

It just seems strange to me to be giving the status to non-gamblers... maybe they think that this will get people to start playing?

Visconti

Wow, this is a true benefit! Even now, Noir has some significant benefits. I noticed that MLife Plat no longer has access to VIP checkin, which, Noir, of course does. Using the B's Chairman's lounge shouldn't be an issue, if you're staying at the hotel. Just show your Noir card, and that'll be the end of it.

Congrats guys! Just curious, you're all on non-corp rates? In other words, you pay for your own stays, and not reimbursed by an Employer?

VegasGambler

I don't think that's true (at least, it didn't used to be). Lounge access used to have to be attached to your reservation, which could only be done by a host. Regardless of status level, if you are not gambling you won't have a host.

Please report back if this has changed!!

UAflyer93

martinplas

Visconti

My understand is that B's CL may be accessed by Noir or Amex Centurion members. I've been told by hotel staff that it may even be used without having to stay at the hotel. I've never had issues using the it, but it may because they may know of my history of blackjack play, but doubt the lounge dragon would have any clue whether or not I gambled.

My recommendation is when staying at the hotel, check in at the VIP lounge (one adjacent to Rolex store). While checking in, ask the FD if you can use the CL, and they should say "yes." Then, just use the lounge, and when asked, show the card.

VegasGambler

In response to your PS -- it wouldn't surprise me if MLife requested this. This could very well be a new initiative from the folks at casino marketing.

We've only seen a couple of data points here, but they seem to be people with very high base pts. Someone spending 20-30k out of pocket on hotels every year is probably a pretty good pool for casino marketing to draw new clients from.

I think of myself as someone who spends a lot on hotels, and I'm going to get to globalist with only 55k base pts (right at 60 nights, including 9 qual nights from credit card and a free nights). Anyone who spend 2-3x what I do on hotels is definitely a someone who casino marketing wants a shot at -- at least they have the disposable income to be a good customer.

If we start seeing data points from someone earning globalist with a string of cat 1 stays and 25k base pts that will be different. I'm also curious to know if they are looking at corporate vs regular rates.

FWIW I haven't gambled in well over a year and I'm still noir. I honestly don't think that they care that much.

Visconti

As recently as last year, I would have wagered virtually any amount that Noir status would never be issued to non gamers, but, here we are! LOL Since inception, Noir treatment certainly isn't now what it had been, when casinos would literally bend over backwards for its members, but it'll still raise some eyebrows. You're right, the criteria in the past was one had to be nominated by a Host. Points never mattered, only the gaming, coins in coins out, and the average daily theo -- sure helps if you play slots though. I'd agree that people with a high degree of both, non-corp/employer reimbursed, discretionary and disposable income would be worth MLife targeting.

The VIP lounge check in & comp limo (especially for larger parties) makes this a valuable perk, especially as match, in my view. As someone said, sure beats a fruit basket!

Tip - anyone there now, print your card at the MLife desk, go to Caesars and get a Total Rewards Diamond match. Then, ask for the $100 dining credit, and use it at Homestead steakhouse in the casino.

VegasGambler

They've given it to non-gamblers before Originally, Noir was 1M tier credits in a year (that's 5x the requirement for platinum). Theoretically if you were a big spender you could get it without gambling at all (it's not hard to spend several thousand dollars in a day at a nightclub, dayclub, or party pool -- a few of those charged to your room and the tier credits start to stack up)

Then they made it invite only, and the rumor was that you required 2M tier credits in a year to even be considered (mostly / all from gambling, combined with high average trip theo). Note that MLife uses average trip theo as their main metric (unlike Caesar's which uses average daily theo). This is important because you can game average daily theo by concentrating your play on a trip into fewer days... eg on a 4 day trip you might play 12 hours in a single day, rather than 3 hr/day for the whole trip, and get 4x the ADT for the same amount of play.

Realistically, this change made the status mostly worthless, except for the increased points earning. It would only go to high-end gamblers, and those gamblers were already getting all the noir benefits (and more) comped from their hosts LONG before they had enough play to qualify for Noir. For me, it was an extra 0.1% on my video poker play (which is significant!) and some wallet bling.

For non-gamblers, I agree that this is a great benefit, since you're not already getting all those perks. The taxi line at LAS can be long; being met by a limo driver can save you a significant amount of time (not really much money, since an appropriate tip for a limo driver is close to what a cab (or at least a lyft) would cost). It's also fun to travel in style

Maybe now they are moving back to giving it to big spenders, even if they are not gamblers? Come to think of it, maybe it's not even casino marketing behind this. If you spend $30k on hotels in a year, those MGM hotels want some of that money! This could be an attempt to increase hotel revenue (rather than gaming revenue)

Visconti

Wish I knew this back then, could likely have done much better on the comps!