Fly Like a Butterfly, Sing Like Mariah

If you fly frequently you undoubtedly accumulate “miles” as part of a loyalty program. Given a sufficient cubic ton of these “miles” you’re able to book even more air travel, although you probably find that it is exceedingly difficult to schedule anything that goes anywhere you want to at the time that you want to go.

Airlines have cleverly come up with ways for people to use their miles for non-flying purposes, everything from magazine subscriptions to memberships in the airlines’ lounges.

Delta, the Macaulay air travel vendor of choice, has taken this use of miles to a whole new level with its “SkyMiles Experiences.”

This allows you to use miles to “bid” on various things, ranging from attending a NASCAR race to having dinner at Thomas Keller’s Per Se restaurant. While you probably would have zero problem getting tickets to the Quaker State 400, reservations at Per Se would be something else entirely.

At this point you may be wondering whether this is the GloNo Travel Tips section that you’ve accidentally stumbled upon.

No.

But a new SkyMiles Experience offering is something that I can’t just not mention: “Meet Mariah Carey in Las Vegas.”

That’s right. With a sufficient offloading of miles accumulated in too many seats positioned for people who are 1/32nd scale or normal people, you, too, can go to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas—the Experience doesn’t include airfare nor a room at Caesars—and witness what the Delta copywriter describes as “the iconic chanteuse.”

Now you might be curious about what is included in the package. Inquiring minds need to know.

Yes, there are two seats for “The Butterfly Returns.” The Butterfly had previously been there from 2015 to 2017 for “#1 to Infinity.” You’ve got to hand it to them for coming up with clever names.

But there are two other benefits associated with this SkyMiles Experience that you’d otherwise be unlikely to otherwise attain were you not someone who had eaten more than your share of mini-Kind bars during what felt like an infinite number of trips jammed into the back of 737s:

“One (1) photo with Mariah Carey after the concert”—I like the way they use the numeral lest someone not be able to figure out that one is one—“One (1) autographed Mariah Carey poster.”

As for the first, the winner gets to have the photo taken with the Butterfly and one (1) other person. And know: “No personal phones, selfies, or autographs permitted when taking a photo with Mariah Carey.”

As for the autographed poster, things are even more interesting:

“The exact poster in which Mariah Carey will autograph”—“in which” seems like a bizarre prepositional phrase—“is at the discretion of the artist’s management team. . . [it] will not be personalized to the winning bidder’s name.” After all, Butterflies are free.

Somehow that redeye to Dubuque seems somewhat more appealing.

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