Hyatt and MGM Properties in Las Vegas Announce New Partnership and How You Can Benefit

Hyatt has announced a partnership with MGM Properties in Las Vegas. Hyatt and MGM have introduced a number of redemption, earning and elite options across the two chains. I am going to go over the new benefits, point out where the value is and discuss how this fits into the current Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life programs. While I am not excited about redeeming or earning Hyatt points with these properties and I still recommend using third-party booking sites for Vegas stays, which don’t earn points, there is some good value here.

Keep in mind M Life has also partnered with Southwest Rapid Rewards so stays at M Life can also earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points. You can read more about this on VegasChatter here.

Current Hyatt elite members will become elite members at the Las Vegas MGM properties. Moreover, Hyatt stays will now earn MGM M Life Tier points in addition to the standard Hyatt Gold Passport points. You can then use these points in Las Vegas for dinner, show tickets, spa services, etc. So every Hyatt Gold Passport member should sign up for the MGM M Life loyalty program and start earning M Life points along the way!

You can read Hyatt’s guide to the new benefits in their Frequently Asked Questions concerning the new partnership.

Summary of new benefits:

1. Redeem Hyatt points for MGM properties in Las Vegas – starting June 20, 2013.
2. Earn Hyatt points for stays at MGM properties in Las Vegas (5 points per dollar + Elite bonus for point eligible stays) – starting June 20, 2013.
3. Earn MGM M Life Tier Points for stays at Hyatt properties (8 M Life Tier Points per dollar) – starting June 20, 2013.
4. Hyatt elite members will receive elite status in the MGM M Life program and MGM M Life elite members – starting in August.
5. Hyatt free night certificates earned with the Chase Hyatt co-branded credit card can be used at MGM Las Vegas properties

Excluded benefits:

1. Using points or Hyatt Diamond Suite upgrade certificates to upgrade MGM rooms to a suite. I wrote about four different ways you can get free Hyatt suites, but unfortunately, these will not work at the new Las Vegas MGM Properties.
2. You will not receive specifically your Hyatt elite benefits at MGM Properties (e.g. free internet, free breakfast); only ones linked to the MGM M Life elite status you are matched to.

Redeeming Hyatt Gold Passport points for MGM properties in Las Vegas:

MGM has 12 properties in Las Vegas and Hyatt has assigned categories with the following point award rates:

• 22,000 points per night (Category 6): Aria,  Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, THEhotel at Mandalay Bay
• 18,000 points per night (Category 5): MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Vdara, The Mirage
• 15,000 points per night (Category 4) – Monte Carlo, New York-New York 
• 12,000 points per night (Category 3) – Luxor
  
• 8,000 points per night (Category 2) – Excalibur
  

Note: THEhotel is actually leaving the MGM Group and turning into a Delano property next year, which is in the Morgan’s Hotel Group. 

I am not particularly excited about these redemption rates. While these are nice properties in Las Vegas, Vegas tends to run promotions and deals on a regular basis and you can often get better value for your Hyatt points. It’s not uncommon to pick up a top tier room on Priceline for $150 a night. For more info and ideas on how to use Priceline, you can check out my post about getting hotels on Priceline. I would also suspect that you won’t have the ability to redeem points during the really big events like March Madness or Superbowl or New Year’s and those days will be blocked, but I could be wrong.

While it is nice to be guaranteed a stay in a  $300 room at Bellagio and something you may not pay out of pocket for, you can easily get $500 to $1000 in value for those same 22,000 Hyatt points if you use them at Park Hyatt Paris – Vendome, Grand Hyatt Kauai or Park Hyatt Beaver Creek during ski season. 

Earning Hyatt Gold Passport points at MGM Properties:

We can now earn Hyatt Gold Passport points in addition to MGM M Life points at MGM Properties. Hyatt Gold passport members will earn 5 points per dollar spent and members with elite status will continue to earn bonus points on top of the base earning (e.g. 15% for Platinum, 30% for Diamond). You just need to tell the desk agent at the hotel you would like to earn Hyatt Gold Passport points as well.

That said, I have often gone to Las Vegas booking through Priceline or Hotwire and these don’t count as point eligible rates. A few months ago, Samba for Miles’ parents took a trip to Las Vegas and got the Excalibur for $35 a night on Hotwire. In my opinion, I prefer this to (a) redeeming 8,000 for a room at Excalibur or (b) paying the Excalibur website price of more than double or triple that. So you should always check out Priceline, Hotwire and third party sites before settling for a points rate. You may save a lot more than you’ll earn in points that way. That said, I did stay at Mandalay Bay on a website promotional rate a few years ago so earning those Hyatt Gold Passport points would certainly have been a nice perk.

Earning M Life Tier points for stays at Hyatt Properties:

Now this is where the real benefit is for Hyatt loyal customers. You can get free comps and benefits in Vegas by earning M Life Tier points for the Hyatt stays you’re already paying for. You can visit this page for the M Life Tier benefits.

For every points-earning eligible stay at a Hyatt property, you can earn 8 MGM M life points per dollar. So if you’re already a Hyatt Gold Passport member and stay at Hyatt, it’s definitely worth it to just sign up for MGM M Life and collect tier points along the way.  So just sign up for the MGM M Life program and start earning points!

The M Life Tier points you earn can then be converted Express Comps. Each point is worth 1 cent in free play and 1 cent toward comps at the MGM Property. These can be used on generally comped entertainment such as drinks, spa services, dinner. That’s some nice reward for your Hyatt stays. Stay tuned for a more detailed post breaking down the M Life Program. I used play poker quite frequently at Mandalay Bay and have always loved getting comps (and funding my Vegas vacation playing poker, of course!)

Reciprocal elite status for Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life Program members:

Starting in August, Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life Program elite members will be able to match their elite status to the other program.

Hyatt elite status will be matched to:

• Hyatt Diamond status to M Life Platinum.
• Hyatt Platinum status to M Life Gold.
• All Hyatt Gold Passport members will become Sapphire members with M Life.

Additional information: M Life elite status benefits.

M Life elite status will be matched to:

• M Life Noir, Platinum and Gold to Hyatt Platinum.
• M Life Pearl and Sapphire to just Gold Passport member.

Additional information: Hyatt Gold Passport elite status benefits.

Hope this announcement brings you some nice Las Vegas M Life benefits. And you can always check out Hyatt’s Frequently Asked Questions concerning the partnership to learn more!

Other posts you may like:

Don’t Pay For That Hyatt Suite! How To Get Free Suites and Upgrades

Natalya’s Stay at Hyatt Regency Monterey and The Hyatt Diamond Treatment

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