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It’s time to Status Match Hyatt to MGM Rewards
Hyatt and MGM struck a partnership all the way back in 2013. August of that year, reciprocal elite status was granted to members of each program. Why was this so great? It opened the door to a merry-go-round of elite status since the programs continue to run on different calendars. This means that you can keep rematching from one to another.
In 2022 MGM has rebranded their MLife program to MGM Rewards and luckily they kept the status match in tact. It’s time to match your Hyatt status to MGM since the MGM status should have fallen off while Hyatt status runs until the end of Feb.
Let me explain how this works and the MGM Rewards Gold sweet spot for waived resorts fees.
*Note that some people are reporting that the link is broken and they’ve had to manually call in to match.
- Pearl to Discoverist
- Gold, Platinum, Noir to Explorist
I mentioned that the Programs run on different calendars
- MGM Rewards status you earned in 2022 will drop off on 1/31/23
- The World of Hyatt status you earned in 2022 will expire 2/28/23
- This leaves a gap whereby MGM status expires and Hyatt is in tact.
This gap in time facilitates the opportunity to do something really cool – you can use your Hyatt status to match to MGM from Feb 1st to Feb 28th. It may be possible to match between Jan 1st and Jan 31st, but I always do it once it’s fully fallen off.
Then, on March 1st, if your Hyatt status has lapsed, you could match your MGM status to Hyatt status. In fact, you could do this earlier than March 1st, but in the past I always wait just in case there is a glitch ( like I mentioned I do with MGM ) and it doesn’t recognize the match for the next elite status year.
Matching could equal No Resort Fees at MGM properties
Here’s a look at the benefits of each tier – you’ll notice that Gold status includes resort fees being waived ( the $100 tier achievement isn’t included if you’re matched ) and you can hit Gold status with an Explorist match.
Now with resort fees being waived…it’s even more valuable for Hyatt members planning a trip to Vegas.
Things to keep in mind
- you must book direct and via MGM
- This is better anyways since their rates are far better
When you Match Hyatt to MGM you will see this process
Start with Sapphire Status
You can see that I have been dropped down to the lowest MGM Rewards status. At the time of matching I held Hyatt Globalist status, but that will drop off come March 1st so I’ll need to match back to get Explorist.
Next use the link to optin to the Hyatt to MGM status match
Confirmation of the match
Mine instantly updated to MGM Rewards Gold
That’s a wrap! Lemme know if you have any questions,
but use those links to match and follow the time schedule and you’re good to go!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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