MGM is changing the name of its loyalty program to MGM rewards in February and will make elite status harder to earn, but also more valuable.
They are offering airfare credits and celebration meals upon earning elite tiers, as well as introducing confirmed suite upgrades for top tier elites. The new benefits will be competitive, but there will be fewer elites among families and non-gambling leisure guests.
The program is still interesting because of their partnership with Hyatt, where Hyatt members receive MGM's Gold status and that waives resort fees and complimentary valet parking.
It is possible to earn elite status.
There are many readers with Hyatt status, and the easiest path to status is a status match with Hyatt, but for those earning it organically.
It is harder to earn status with spending other than from gambling, with just 4 tier points per dollar, down from 25.
Hyatt now requires a choice between earning Hyatt points or MGM tier credit, no more double dipping.
The value of gambling spend for status is changing, too, as hotels outside of Las Vegas are getting easier to manage so that games are aligned across their properties, while also tracking more with the profitability of each game.
David Tsai is the President of Midwest Properties.
We realized we had made it too easy to become a premium tier in the program, and that didn't allow us to offer meaningful benefits that other loyalty programs could.
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It was easy for a member to charge friends and family for their Pearl or Gold status. It was difficult to achieve similar tiers in other programs.
They haven't figured out how to talk about tier credit earning changes on the gambling side. Vegas may earn less than non-Vegas properties, but it will depend on the game. They will be offering consistent earn across the whole company. A slot that holds less money. This should approximate earning tier credits based on theoretical loss from a game and spend, rather than just tracking coins. They don't know how much they'll be more transparent on this.
The changes tilt the program more towards gamblers. Non-gambling spend is comped anyway, so elite gamblers don't have much. Frequent flyers who don't gamble and don't get their status via match will find the program less doable. The program will have fewer elites, based on a conversation I had with David Tsai. He says that this will allow them to deliver more benefits consistently.
The benefits have been revised.
Those who achieve or match to status will see better benefits because it will take 5000 dollars on property just to get the first level of status which nets free self-parking.
Key benefits are at each level.
A $10 birthday bet is offered by Pearl.
The resort fee for up two rooms when booking direct; $100 tier achievement celebration dinner; upgrade at check-in if available; complimentary valet parking; and a $25 birthday bet are all gold.
The Platinum tier has a $600 air travel credit to Las Vegas once per tier, a $200 tier achievement celebration dining experience, and an annual complimentary cruise on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity.
The Noir includes: $1200 air travel credit to Las Vegas once per tier; $500 tier achievement celebration dining experience; complimentary cruise on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity; access to the airport transportation; and guaranteed restaurant reservations.
Golds get Pearl benefits and Platinums get Gold benefits.
After booking, Platinums and Noirs can request the confirmed suite upgrade benefit. It can be confirmed if a standard suite is available. David Tsai told me that they don't plan to be restrictive on inventory, even though they are still working through some details on how the upgrade will work. They started with a single year to make sure they could deliver it.
If we have availability, we will honor late checkout. On sell-out nights, he notes that. The general idea is to honor it as long as the hotel has enough people arriving later in the day so that they can turn the room. They will honor it in the majority of cases, but it is at the hotel front desk discretion.
Upon earning the relevant tier, there is a free cruise, celebration meal, and airfare credit. Status matches and other comp status are not supposed to receive these. Dining and airfare will not be given to current elites until they are qualified for the 2023 Olympics. That is less generous than the $100 celebration dinners given by Caesars to those on the Diamond status match.
The elimination of resort fees for mid-tier elites is a good thing. In the case of a celebration dinner and resort fee waiver, they are mostly copying Caesars, but with their portfolio of nicer properties I prefer to stay at. It's nice to have mid-tier Hyatt status and not have to pay resort fees.
Noir is the invitation-only level and without a published earning criteria, it takes a six figure to be invited, which is to say you gamble enough that on average you would lose that much.
Noirs used to get the best available table at restaurants without advance notice, but it is no longer a published benefit and has not been in recent times.
MGM has a new tier status brochure on the site.
This is a strategic pivot that focuses on giving benefits to gamblers. They have focused on families and other leisure travelers in the past, but this is a clear switch back to focus on gamblers because of the reduced ability to earn status for non-gambling spend. David Tsai is hoping that customers view this as a positive, because it allows most loyalty customers to be rewarded.
Hyatt MGM Partnership: Hyatt Gold Passport announced this morning that it is linking up with MGM Resorts to provide points earning and redemption and elite recognition. There are details on how each piece of this partnership will work.
June 5, 2013).
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August 28,
"General"
Hyatt's new elite program starts in March and was leaked this morning. Most of the information was accurate, but there's a lot more to it. I spoke with Hyatt this morning about the changes and there are more benefits.
October 27, 2016
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