Following recent news that MGM Resorts was devaluing non-gaming play for its loyalty program, the company has announced a revamp of the entire M life program. It launches on February 1, 2022, and we interviewed an MGM representative to get all the details. Let’s take a look.
New MGM Rewards Program Details
According to an MGM official, the M life program will be rebranded as MGM Rewards, because guests often failed to make the connection between “M life” and “MGM.” This is far from the most exciting news, however, as the revamped program will be offering far more enticing benefits to compete with fellow casino loyalty programs.
The 5 existing tiers of status will remain the same:
- Sapphire (Up to 19,999 Tier Credits)
- Pearl (20,000 Tier Credits)
- Gold (75,000 Tier Credits)
- Platinum (200,000 Tier Credits)
- Noir (Invitation only)
However, new perks will be launching to help bring the MGM Rewards program into a far more competitive alignment with programs such as Caesars Rewards.
In addition to elite status updates, MGM Rewards will change the way you earn points. Specifically, from February 1, 2022, onward, nearly all gaming and non-gaming spending will earn you MGM Rewards Points. Previously, these points were limited to gaming and co-branded credit card spend.
However, bear in mind that along with these changes, MGM Rewards will be slashing the ability to earn elite status for non-gaming spend. When this new program launches, members will earn just 4 Tier Credits per non-gaming dollar spent versus the current 25 Tier Credits per dollar they currently earn with M life.
Pearl Elite Status Changes
As the lowest earned status, Pearl hasn’t historically awarded its members much. The new program offers some exciting changes, however:
- No expiration of points
- Free concert tickets
This is in addition to existing benefits such as free self-parking and discounted room rates.
Hot Tip: Are you active duty or a veteran? Enjoy free Pearl status for life with MGM’s MVP M life Rewards Card.
Gold Elite Status Changes
Most of us here probably have M life’s Gold elite status thanks to its reciprocal partnership with World of Hyatt (and if you don’t, you should). Although free valet parking has been nice, the lack of waived resort fees as offered to Caesars Diamond members has driven away business. Clearly, MGM has noticed this, with these revised benefits:
- Waived resort fees on up to 2 rooms
- $100 celebration dinner (for eligible members)
- Tier appreciation events
Although room rates in Las Vegas can be ridiculously cheap, the $45+/night resort fee stacked on stop can quickly turn a cheap weekend getaway into a costly event. MGM has done one better than Caesars here and doubled the number of rooms you can get with waived resort fees — meaning you and all your friends can head out and party for less than $25 per night.
And although at first blush the celebration dinner looks like it’s there to compete with Caesars’, be aware that the $100 credit is only for those who’ve acquired the actual Tier Credits; those who’ve matched over do not qualify.
Platinum Elite Status Changes
- $200 celebration dinner (for eligible members)
- $600 air travel credit to Las Vegas (for eligible members)
- Advanced suite upgrades (up to 3 nights)
- 4 p.m. late checkout
NOIR Elite Status Changes
- $500 celebration dinner (for eligible members)
- $1,200 air travel credit to Las Vegas (for eligible members)
Keep in mind that the full breakdown of benefits hasn’t been released. MGM will be giving a broader breakdown when the MGM Rewards program launches on February 1, 2022.
What About World of Hyatt?
According to the MGM representative to whom we spoke, “Members can continue to redeem World of Hyatt points for stays at all Las Vegas MGM Rewards destinations and MGM Rewards will continue to match World of Hyatt tier status under the new program as we do today with M life Rewards.”
This is excellent news for World of Hyatt loyalists, and not just those who want to visit Vegas. Why? Because the reciprocal partnership with MGM means that you’ll earn elite night credits on all MGM Resorts stays. At ~$65 per night, this was still a decent and somewhat cheap way to earn World of Hyatt’s top-tier elite status.
But with resort fees waived — well, Vegas has just become the easiest and cheapest way to earn Globalist status.
Room rates in Las Vegas tend to fluctuate up and down pretty drastically on weekend versus non-weekend stays. The $22 rate above, for example, was on a Thursday night. But let’s say for the sake of argument that you were able to find yourself enough eligible weeknights at a $22 rate to earn yourself Globalist status.
How much would that take?
Earning World of Hyatt Globalist status takes 60 nights, 50,000 bonus points, or 20 meetings hosted. In this case, paying $22 per night would mean it’ll cost you just $1,320 to earn top-tier status. That’s ridiculously cheap, especially for a status that grants you benefits such as complimentary breakfast, suite upgrades, and 4 p.m. checkout.
Hot Tip: For your time in Vegas, check out our guides to the best things to do in Las Vegas, the best websites for Las Vegas vacation packages and deals, and how to book cheap car rentals in Las Vegas.
Final Thoughts
Look, there’s no doubt that MGM has slashed the ability to earn elite status by dropping your earn rate on non-gaming spend from 25 Tier Credits down to 4 Tier Credits per dollar. However, for those of us who rely on matches and partnerships to earn elite status, the revamped MGM Rewards program is a huge boon.
This is especially true thanks to the industry-leading waived resort fees benefit, which means that not only will Vegas (and elsewhere) be cheap for you, World of Hyatt’s Globalist elite status just became much easier to reach.
