Vail Resorts sent me a ski-vacation survey in July.
The email asked about my vacation preferences and called me a valued guest. It requested a little time to complete the survey.
In May, my PEAKS statement had shown zero reward points and zero reward certificates. The same statement offered the new Epic Pass for $579. A separate email from friends proposed another day at Arapahoe Basin on Memorial Day. Neither message said that I had bought a pass or completed the trip.
The July survey was another message about the next ski season. It did not contain a lift ticket, reservation, pass purchase, or trip confirmation.
The May offer had named Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Heavenly. A $49 payment could hold the $579 pass, with the remaining balance due in September. My July email did not show that payment.
I had not filled it out in the email thread. There was no completed form or list of my answers attached to the invitation.
The message did not say which resort I preferred, where I wanted to stay, how often I planned to travel, or whether I intended to ski the following winter. Those were questions for the survey rather than facts in the invitation.
The timing was the clearest part. The PEAKS offer had arrived in May, and the survey followed in July. Vail Resorts was still sending winter mail in the middle of summer.
I had a survey invitation. I did not yet have a recorded answer.