USGBC Tiered Membership - Buying a Platinum Credential

Only the largest companies can afford the highest membership level. Those companies would claim the highest membership level as a marketing advantage. It wouldn't be good marketing not to. The largest companies already, in my opinion, get the highest profile LEED projects, and earn the highest LEED Fees. The LEED Fees are often claimed as zero-added cost, but in reality they are folded into the overall fees their clients pay. Claiming LEED is no added-cost is okay of the project has a multimillion dollar A&E fee. But smaller scale projects do not have that luxury.

It's up there with amusement parks offering gold passes (fast passes) for an extra fee. It lowers the enjoyment of the park for everyone else while watching others walk past to the front of the line.