How The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Rewards Loyalty
Unpacking multiple layers of rewards & gamification via a thrilling tale of adventure, dumb luck, and perhaps some questionable judgment.
This program study is for educational and entertainment purposes only and not an endorsement of gambling.
I was never really a Vegas person. But in January 2022—precisely 10 years after my last visit—something shifted and I made multiple trips in a year.
That wasn’t the plan. The plan was to just go once for my birthday in January on a solo mission where I would work on a bit of art project (capturing footage I would turn into a music video for my band) and go hiking with my friend and Scaling CRM contributor,
. And, sure, I’d do a little bit of gambling.The inspiration for going to Vegas was partly influenced by my budding friendship with Joey as much as it was due to feeling trapped during COVID times and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and wanting an antidote to the pent up lack of stimulation. Plus, my wife was going later in the year for a Bachelorette party and I guess I had some premature FOMO.
My trip in January was a success. I’m not historically good at treating myself and it felt awesome to have an abundance of time to explorer as a voyeur—capturing scenes with my iPhone both in the city and well outside of it.
But there was one pivotal moment during that long weekend trip which clinched my fate. On my last day I was walking from the NoMad (highly recommended) towards The Bellagio & Caesars just to catch the scenes one last time and I decided to sit down at a digital roulette table at The Cosmopolitan for what I expected to be a quick session.
Oh, and I should add that in this moment I was peaking on a gummy, which seemed like a good idea at the time (I regret nothing). Btw, consumption and possession of THC products are not allowed on the strip, but are legal in other parts of Las Vegas, so this was consumed ahead of time. (over communicating here for CYA purposes).
He Shoots, He Scores
As fate would have it, I had a lot of luck at that Roulette Table. I was there for several hours and ended up leaving up on the house by a few thousands dollars. It was a nice way to end the trip.
I had cashed out a couple of times during this sequence and the staff recommended that I create a free Identity Membership to get on the books for their rewards program. At that time, I was given a Velvet card.
Below is a birds-eye view of each tier level and corresponding benefits:
And here are the various ways to earn and redeem points:
And for posterity, here is the welcome email I received:
When I left Vegas the next day, I was really happy that I had come. I also thought ‘hey, maybe I’ll come back later this year with Whitney (my wife) if I can convince her to come twice this year.’
I mostly expected her to say “no, dear, I’m already going to Vegas this year, remember?”
But I was wrong.
The Return to Vegas (Thanks, Cosmo!)
As you would expect, since I signed up for the Identity rewards program, I ended up receiving some of those personalized offers that are mentioned in the fine print in the tiers benefits page.
Yep.
Not even two weeks after returning from my trip I received the following email, which I forwarded to my wife as a tongue-in-cheek half joke since she was already going to Vegas in a handful of months.
Now, this is where the common reaction for readers like you will set in with an ‘Of course they sent you this offer - they wanted their money back’.
I have a couple of responses to that understandable reaction. 1) Yes, for sure. 2) But that’s still a really phenomenal offer for a 5-star hotel and it’s up to the individual to be as disciplined or reckless with that opportunity as they would like to be.
Now getting back to what happened…to my surprise, my wife was excited about the offer and within a few hours we reached out to some couples that we knew either enjoyed Vegas or might be intrigued enough to tag along.
Later that day we had a group of 6 ready for action. It was go time.
Also, later that same day we went ahead and made our reservation.
Flights were booked, grandparents were in queue to babysit our daughter, and in a matter of weeks, we were on our way. Ahh, to feel young and free again.
A Truly Great Reward Stay at The Cosmo
Everyone in our group stayed at different hotels, but The Cosmo became a focal point for the trip. We went to their main show, ate at signature restaurants several times as a group and even booked time at the Spa.
I should also mention that the comped room we got (The Terrace One Bedroom Suite) was excellent and we lucked out with a great view from the better of their two towers.
In other words, this was a win-win.
The Cosmo got a lot of money from us and our group—especially from food expenses (which racked up my points as I always paid and got reimbursed).
And we had a vacation that felt like a real escape.
I did enough spending that trip to move well into the top half of the Sterling tier. Just like Airline Mileage programs, every upward tier unlocks more benefits and a faster path to accumulating additional points.
We now had obtained an emotional connection to The Cosmo. Before 2022, we did not identify at all as “Vegas People”, but in our current chapter of life we were really beginning to see the appeal as an occasional quick getaway destination.
The secret sauce for us was that we loved the food scene there and the convenience of mapping out a day that included an excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Being 40 minutes outside the center of Atlanta these last couple of years has been a real struggle in contrast to spending nearly 10 years in the Bay Area beforehand.
Sure, I’ll Add A Couple More Quick Trips
As this point, Vegas and especially The Cosmo is always on the backlog of things we might do. It’s not the top of the pile for us. But it’s definitely in the mix.
And so when my wife went to her Bachelorette trip (3 nights atThe Venetian), I flew out at the tail end of that trip and spent the next day and night with her because it was our anniversary and it was easy to plan something great.
I also added a one night stay in November to join a guys trip. This was a last-minute decision, but I was able to once again stay for free using my Cosmo Tier comp(s). I should also mention that I’m a delta Platinum Medallion member and so flight rewards are a regular option, adding to the allure.
Through the course of these trips I ate a lot more food and did a little more gambling at The Cosmo and trickled up into a Gold Tier. The nice thing about that bracket is we get a couple comp nights a year to share with friends.
Our big plan this year is to live abroad in Portugal for 3 months from April -June through the Boundless Life program (great for families that want to be Digital Nomads but need a solution for the kiddos). But when we return, I imagine Vegas will once again be a part of the conversation whenever we feel the need for a quick rush and antidote to our somewhat rural life.
Now, What Can a Lifecycle Marketer Take Away from The Cosmos’s Approach?
First off, you have to assume that The Cosmo very likely has a segmentation strategy & sophisticated data science program. It’s Vegas, after all. And my behavior (i.e. spent a couple hours at a Roulette table and gave a lot of winnings back before ultimately still coming out on top) dictated the win-back offer I received.
Secondly, you have to consider the product itself is a Resort featuring a Casino, Restaurants, Shops, and Entertainment for a destination branded to have no rules and more or less as a Disney for Adults.
There are many tricks of the CRM trade that wouldn’t make contextual sense for The Cosmo to employ, such as a traditional newsletter or random SMS or push messages trying to get you to keep them top-mind. Vegas is a mindset, and the email channel along with the occasional direct mail surprise are perfect channels to act as the white rabbit to remind you to take the red pill every once in a while.
With all of that context in mind, here is the anatomy of their program as I see it:
PRODUCT BACKBONE 🦴 = Rewards Program
The Identity Membership and corresponding benefits for each tier is their flagship product for creating retention and engagement and LTV.
They can optimize and adjust the rules for this whenever they want, but it appears to have been pretty consistent in recent years.
PROMO LAYER A = Personalized Offers via 📧 & 📬
Cadence = At least 1 personalized offer per quarter w/1-2 reminders
These offers are incremental to the comps and benefits available as an Identity Member, such as the 4 nights free + $100 credit offer I received.
After our rewards trip, I have continued to get curated offers at least once per quarter and each offer is supported with 1-2 reminders over the course of it’s shelf life. I’ve also received a few direct mail pieces.
PROMO LAYER B = In-Product 🎁 Reminders
As you would expect, the offers you have at your disposal are reinforced very nicely in the product when you are logged in. Here’s what mine looks like:
🍒 PROMO LAYER C = Special Events & Resort Updates
The cherry on top to the rewards program is the occasional concert, event, or meaningful resort update. These announcements are intermittent and it’s highly likely they are surgically targeting them based on a prioritized segment strategy until tickets are sold out (which is almost guaranteed to happen).
🌹 Onsite Experience = Digital Concierge Over Text
After checking in, you’ll be greeted via SMS from Rose. Rose is an extremely on-brand automated assistant who can tee-up recommendations, answer basic questions, and likely has some fun easter eggs programed into her system.
She is also a conduit to real human support that can be quicker to receive then making your way back to the concierge desk through the labyrinth of machines.
Rose is not a game-changer, but she’s a nice touch.
Time to Catch Up on Sleep
Alright, that’s all for this fever dream of a tear-down. I hope you’ve enjoyed this (mostly true) account from my escapades.
If you want to experience the Identity Membership Rewards program for yourself, you just need to sign up and spend some dough there while using your card, regardless of whether you stay there overnight.
Know of any other great rewards programs? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.