Hi CP17,
Congratulations on your new mattress 
As you know you certainly made a great quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
I would consider a mattress protector to be important to protect your mattress from stains and the body fluids, skin cells, and oils that we release each night, to protect against spills and accidents, and to keep your sleeping surface in a clean and hygienic condition. It will also protect your warranty because most mattress warranties are usually voided with any type of stain on a mattress. They can be easily removed for washing and are usually designed to have the least possible effect on the feel and performance of the mattress itself. This way you won’t need to clean your mattress cover except for spot cleaning when necessary and vacuuming the surface from time to time.
There is more about the pros and cons of the different types of mattress protectors and examples of each of them in post #89 here.
Phoenix