Guide: Maximize World of Hyatt/M Life Partnership
There are 4 programs that offer some sort of cross-over benefit.
- Mlife/Hyatt
- IHG/Venetian/Palazzo
- Marriott/Cosmopolitan
- Total Rewards/Wyndham
You can further exploit these benefits with credit cards, membership programs and credit card related travel perks.
My personal favorite of the bunch is M life and Hyatt because not only are Borgata and Aria my two favorite casinos (my friend Coach Kitty at TravelZork has covered this extensively), I also happen to most frequently stay at Hyatts. Marriott and Identity is up there as well. Though the most lucrative partnerships on the list belong to Total Rewards and Mlife.
Related: Hotel Review: Aria Resort and Casino Sky Suites Penthouse. Luxury at its Finest?
Ways to Get Elite Benefits Through World of Hyatt or M Life
- Elite Status
- Partnerships (like this one)
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- Credit Cards that confer status
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- Earned through hotel or casino loyalty
- Linking accounts
- Booking Programs
Hyatt M life Offers Reciprocal Status
M life and World of Hyatt offer reciprocal matched status. This means that elite members of either program will receive a matched tier status in the other program. As you can see from the chart above, the highest Mlife status available through matching with Hyatt is Gold Status. Additionally, participating MGM Resorts will do it’s best to honor your Hyatt Elite Benefits when staying at their properties. Here’s the link to the official benefits for World Of Hyatt Elite members.
One word of caution is that you may want to hold off matching to Mlife status if you plan on visiting Atlantic City in the near future. There is more value offered if you wait.
How to Get Mlife Status
You’ll Earn 25 Tier credits per $1 spent at MLife destinations. This includes anything you can charge to your room. So if you did no gambling at all, you would need a minimum of 1,000 in spend to earn Pearl Elite status.
- World of Hyatt Partnership: Click here and follow the instructions
- Mlife Credit Card: Gives Pearl Status and gives you a tier credit multiplier to help you move up the tiers quicker
- Status Matches
- Total rewards in Atlantic City match to Borgata (MLife Gold)
- Traditional Way through gambling and spending
How to get Hyatt Elite Status
- Partnership Status Matches: Click here to link your accounts and get status
- MLife
- Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society and Celebrity Cruises
- Old Fashioned Way: Stays, meetings, base points
- Credit Cards
- Chase Hyatt Visa = Discoverist Status
- Earn bonus points on card with Mlife spend
- United MileagePlus Explorer Card = Discoverist Status
- Chase Hyatt Visa = Discoverist Status
MLife Elite Benefits
The Mlife Elite Benefits vary with tier status, you can see the official list of benefits broken down by status level here though here’s a general list of elite benefits.
- Ability to Earn Points and Express Comps
- Bonus on Points Earned Playing Slots AND Extended Expiration based on tier
- Skip the Line at Participating Buffets
- Complimentary Self-Parking
- Priority Hotel Check-in Line at the Front Desk
- VIP Line Access to Select Nightclubs for You and a Guest in Las Vegas
- Priority Access for Valet and Taxi Service
- Complimentary Limousine Service to/from Nearest Airport with Hotel Stay (only at the top level “Noir” which is by invitation only.)
***Unfortunately, Resort Fees are not waived with Tier Status as they are with Total Rewards. They are nearly $50 a day when you include the taxes at some of the properties in Las Vegas.***
Related: Pay Up! Newly Increased Vegas Resort Fees Pass $50 & How to Avoid Them!
Booking Portals and Programs
As we’ve discussed in the past, booking programs like FHR and Chase Luxury Hotels and Resorts Collection allow you to earn loyalty points AND give you elite status benefits without the status. I recently booked the Bellagio and the Aria SkySuites through this program and it was pretty great having late checkout. I sometimes choose this over comps because you don’t owe the casino any play, you earn loyalty program spend and elite nights etc. Here’s a write up PDX Deals Guy did about maximizing this benefit in Vegas specifically. We recently covered these programs in separate guides which you can read about and learn how to maximize here.
- How to Stack Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection for Max Value. Benefit Now Available for No Fee Cards!!
- Guide: How to Book Through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts and Maximize Your Value For Huge Savings
American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts & Chase Luxury Hotels Resorts
Strategically Combine Amex’s FHR Benefit with casino offers and hotel Loyalty. This might be my favorite because not only do you receive all of the perks associated with status but you also earn points and elite credit for your stay. These are available to specific cardholders only.
List of Benefits (Vary slightly by program and resort)
- Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
- Daily breakfast for two people
- 4pm late check-out
- Noon check-in, when available
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Unique amenity valued at US$100, such as a spa or food and beverage credit
Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts
Available only to Amex Platinum and Centurion Cardmembers. Authorized users with Platinum cards can use this benefit as well. Available at these Mlife Las Vegas Resorts
- Aria (Sky Suites ONLY)
- Bellagio
- Delano
- Mandarin Oriental
- SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand
Chase Luxury Hotel Resort Collection
Available on Visa Signature Cards only at these hotels
- Aria
- Bellagio
- Delano
- Mandalay Bay
- Mandarin Oriental
- MGM Grand
- SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand
- The Signature at MGM Grand
Related: Review Bellagio Las Vegas Resort and Casino. Great Location and Beautiful Property with Just a Few Minor Issues
Stacking
Use programs like FHR in conjunction with promotions and stack with other offers. Here’s an excellent example of how stacking can save you a ton of money: WOW! 5 Star Las Vegas Strip Hotel Net $25+/Night (Including Taxes + Resort Fees) By Stacking Popular Benefits & New Promo
This is the fun part since because I’m a miles and points girl. I like to see my money in action. First, you’re going to add together the value of all of these benefits.
- FHR
- Loyalty programs
- Promotions
- Partner earnings
- Credit card earnings
- Discounts such as Amex offer or 4th Night free
- Casino Earnings and comp dollars
Example
Mlife/Hyatt Promo for an extra 20%. Register for the promotion and recieve an additional 20% on base points earned. As an explorist, you already earn 20% increase in points, so this is essentially an extra 40% points earned. What counts? Seems like everything but retail, taxes, tips and casino charges. Charge all of your restaurants bills etc to your room (you can do this at any Mlife property.)
Booked Aria Skysuites for $380/night. 1900 World of Hyatt Points and that goes up to 2660 with the bonus. You’ll also get 9500 Mlife Tier Credits. In addition to 380 Membership Rewards Points.
Also, MLife members who book a stay at Baha Mar in Bahamas will recieve a $75 resort credit.
Click here to compare this card with other travel cards.
Conclusion
One thing I really love about this program is they match your elite status which we know. But what’s really great about this one is that you can triple or quadruple dip if you get lucky. Hyatt’s program terms say that you can’t earn points in multiple programs but in practice I’ve always earned Hyatt points and MLife credits. Also, you can earn SW points for each Hyatt Stay and if there’s some sort of promotion through amex offers or maybe a loyalty promotion that gives you another opportunity to earn.
The beauty of a crossover program like this is that it allows you to receive valuable benefits and status for stays at any MLife and Hyatt Location, that opens up a pretty big world of options for travelers. I also love that MLife continues to expand. The Borgata in Atlantic City recently became an MLife casino so this partnership has become more important to me.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
I just matched my new hyatt credit card to mlife pearl. Since I will be visiting vegas soon, will the pearl match already give me tier points to gold or will I have to start from scratch to get to mlife gold?
I believe it is start from scratch to get to Gold. You just get a better earn rate with the match.
Other thoughts:
If you were so inclined, $56k of spend on the new World of Hyatt card gets you Mlife Gold/Hyatt Explorist (I’m not commenting on if that is actually worth it). Also, with the Mlife CC you only require $7.1k of non-gambline spend at Mlife resorts to qualify for Platinum as opposed to $8k without.
Thanks! I wish the tier multiplier was just a little better on that card.
Thanks for the guide Bethany. I matched to Hyatt Explorist since I recently earned Mlife Gold (via a combination of hotel and restaurant spending and slot machines in Las Vegas. Surprisingly simple to opt-in.
Thank you! I’m glad it worked so easily, some people have reported they had to try a few times before it actually took. (Though mine was instant as well)
I do not believe it is possible to earn both Hyatt points and Southwest points anymore at MGM properties like you could in the past.
I have been told by Front Desk personnel the last couple of times I’ve stayed at Excalibur that their system only allows one loyalty number on a reservation now.
Thanks!!! I’ve heard this more recently….My advice is to choose whichever rewards you prefer and then retroactively seek credit from the other program.