- initially the card felt odd in the slot (it wasn't in upside)
- pushed further but it wouldn't "click"
- used jimmy tool to wiggle a bit (as per advice on a site...)
- ...but the card started to go in even further
- eventually the card went all the way in...to the black hole
- could hear it rattling around if the notebook was shaken
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watched parts of the following videos:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkUIl5oZ0AE - helped in figuring out how to remove battery
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp_5pt0RPbw - helped in deciding not to try to remove motherboard (way too much work), also helped in increasing confidence in the idea that the card "missed" the builtin card reader (the video had a few shots where one could observe how the card reader was attached to the motherboard -- not so easy to see, but enough to be helpful)
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consulted with calm and crafty companion
betting that the card had missed the reader and was probably "floating around", thought there might be a chance of getting it to slide down to a gap...
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remove the back panel of the notebook
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remove the battery (see one of the videos above for advice, this was much trickier than expected)
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hold the power button for >= 15 seconds to drain remaining power (advice from aforementioned video)
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remove the screw next to the two usb a ports that sit next to the card reader slot (the idea here was to make it less likely for the motherboard to crack or break if we lifted a corner -- though the corner was more like the lower left corner (while the screw was closer to the top left corner of the motherboard)).
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hold the notebook and shake it gently to get the card to slide toward where the battery would be, eventually was able to see the card slightly (see image below -- look for the gold microsd card contacts)
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finally, was able to lift part of the motherboard (near the bottom left corner -- close to where the gold contacts can be seen in the image) slightly and carefully. this made the "gap" where part of the card could be seen to be a bit bigger and ultimately it was enough for the card to fall out (it came out at an angle, so too much lifting was not needed). this was done over an anti static mat (helpful for the card not falling on to a hard surface but also a corner of the notebook could be rested on the mat to keep it stable-ish).
- am never going to use the card reader on this machine so put tape over the slot
- How to remove stuck SD card out of laptop's card reader?
- How to Get a MicroSD Card Unstuck From a Laptop
- Micro SD stuck in MSI Prestige 14 - somewhat similar story, but not quite