New Celebrity Cruises MLife Partnership
Much in the same way that MGM Resorts teamed up with Royal Caribbean, they have now inked a deal that gives Celebrity Captain’s Club members elite benefits at Mlife resorts and vice versa. Here are the details:
MIAMI and LAS VEGAS (June 24, 2015) – Celebrity Cruises (NYSE/OSX: RCL) and MGM Resorts International(NYSE: MGM) have come together to give loyalty program members more ways to travel in style. Beginning today, Celebrity’s Captain’s Club and MGM Resorts’ M life members can choose from exclusive premium offers throughout the year. These include complimentary cruises for qualified M life Platinum and NOIR members, and Captain’s Club members can enjoy benefits and special access at MGM Resorts’ destinations including concerts, events, entertainment venues, restaurants and more.
“Aligning MGM Resorts with Celebrity Cruises, one of the top cruise lines in the world, ensures more spectacular experiences for our loyal guests not only on land, but also at sea,” said Lance Evans, Vice President of Marketing Partnerships for MGM Resorts International. “This new relationship brings together two world-class brands to further enhance the value of being a member of M life, with special offers, benefits, rewards and exclusive access.”
Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises, said, “We are incredibly grateful for our Captain’s Club members’ continued loyalty, and I’m thrilled to thank them by giving them even more special benefits. We are just as excited about introducing M life members to Celebrity’s modern luxury vacations, from the award-winning culinary program and personalized service on our sexy, stylish ships, to in-depth destination experiences on all seven continents.”
Exclusive premium perks for M life and Captain’s Club members include:
Captain’s Club – Quarterly offers and M life benefits for each tier, including room discounts, pre-sale access to tickets for A-list concerts and championship fights, exclusive seating at shows and events, priority reservations, special hotel check-in areas, VIP services and more.
M life – Celebrity cruise offers, elevated onboard benefits and the ability to earn M life Tier Credits for onboard slot play. Qualifying M life members who reach Platinum or NOIR, the highest M life Tiers, receive one complimentary Celebrity cruise annually.
Analysis
Both companies have setup a page regarding the partnership. You can find Celebrity’s page here and Mlife’s page here. I am assuming most people reading this site are most interested in the MLife to Captain’s Club benefits. This is because many of you have Mlife Gold or Platinum membership from Hyatt.
The good news is that there are quite a few benefits for Mlife elites. Specifically, Mlife Platinum members will receive departure lounge access, priority boarding, welcome amenity, complimentary specialty dinner, 10 complimentary drink vouchers and 30 minutes of internet free.
While Mlife Platinum members do also receive a free cruise every year, that isn’t the case if you have received your status through Hyatt. Here is how they word it:
If I received my Platinum or NOIR tier from a third party or other partnership, do I qualify for the annual complimentary cruise benefit?
No. Members who received their Platinum or NOIR tier through a third party relationship or other partnership are not eligible for the annual complimentary cruise benefit.
This is the same way the partnership works with Royal Caribbean so this isn’t a surprise considering Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity. On the glass half full side, this seems to acknowledge that all other benefits listed should apply to people who gained their status through a third party like Hyatt.
Conclusion
While Hyatt Diamonds may not get a free cruise out of this, they should get some other pretty valuable benefits when sailing on Celebrity. This deal is nearly identical to the Royal Caribbean deal and it is nice to see Mlife further expand the value of their loyalty program.
Thanks to Grant for sending this over to me.
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I looked at the fine print for Celebrity & Royal Caribbean, and none of the benefits apply to Mlife elites that had their status matched, i.e. Hyatt elites. 🙁 So sad, because I’m now Mlife Platinum from Hyatt Diamond and I’m going on a Royal Caribbean cruise in December. None of those benefits for me since I’m not a “real” Mlife Plat.
From your link: “Captain’s Club members that earned M life tier through our partnership tier match are not eligible to receive on board partnership benefits. Misrepresentation of Captain’s Club and M life tier will void benefits.”
The fact that they use the term “our partnership tier match” which seems to refer to the MLife, Celebrity partnership is a little confusing. The MLife site seems to indicate all benefits will work except for the free cruise, although I wouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t happen in practice.