Why I Would Reconsider Matching Mlife & Hyatt Status
It has become pretty apparant that people love the hotel and casino status match merry-go-round, myself included. I mean matching Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond gets you a $100 dinner, free show tickets, free parking, free rooms and you get to skip those annoying buffet lines. What is not to like? The other major program that people match back and forth is MLife and Hyatt. But I would reconsider matching MLife & Hyatt status.
What Is Wrong With The Mlife & Hyatt Status Match
I was a huge fan of matching Mlife and Hyatt status back and forth. Much like Wyndham and Caesars there is an overlap between the programs and you can match them back and forth. So you only really need status in one at one point to be able to continuously match back and forth. You could earn status with Mlife or Hyatt just once and turn that into Mlife and Hyatt status each year for the foreseeable future. There is no need to spend another dime or night in either program. You would have status for eternity because of the overlap in status dates, until they change the terms etc. at least.
This was a great play because you could turn Hyatt Explorist status into Mlife Gold status. Then once your Hyatt status dropped off you would only have to match your Mlife Gold back to Hyatt. This would give you 4 lounge access certificates, the best perk of Explorist status. This was perfect for people like me that were more infrequent Hyatt patrons but still liked having some of the perks of status when they did stay at a full service property.
That Sounds Great So What Has Changed?
That sounds amazing so why am I dissing this status merry-go-round when I shout about the Caesars and Wyndham partnership from the rooftops? Because Hyatt changed up the rules at the end of 2018.
In the new World of Hyatt program the perks you get with status, or milestones as they call them, would come solely from the nights you stayed at a Hyatt hotel. So no more short cuts to lounge access.
You can still do the status match but you will basically just get better earning rates on paid stays. That means the whole match process is somewhat worthless now.
What If I Just Want Mlife Status?
As you can see matching Mlife to Hyatt is not very rewarding these days. You might still want to go through with it so you have a few perks on your one or two trips to Vegas every year. You are not going to get the food credits or show tickets like you do with the Caesars match but you can still cut some lines, earn more comps on your play and get free parking. Those perks can add up for some. I would still caution you on performing this match for one reason, Atlantic City!
Why Should I Care About Atlantic City?
This past summer I wrote an Atlantic City status match guide. I also showed how you could spend a weekend on the Jersey Shore for free from these casino matches. Because of that I caution you from doing the Hyatt to Mlife match. If there is a chance you will ever go to Atlantic City you want to keep your Mlife status at the basic level so you can perfrorm the match in Atlantic City. When you match Caesars Diamond to Mlife at Borgota you get Mlife gold and get $50 in freeplay, one time lounge access for two and one free night at the hotel. If you bring along a significant other or buddy that is a 2nd night and another $50.
If you had already performed the Hyatt to Mlife status match then you wouldn’t be able to partake in this Atlantic City match. Which means you miss out on a few hundred dollars of goodies.
Final Thoughts
Now this is all based on you actually making a trip to Atlantic City. If you know for sure that you never will visit then you can disregard this and continue with your Hyatt to Mlife matching ways. Or if you think you get more value in Vegas using the Mlife status for the next few years before you would ever go to Atlantic City then by all means do it. But if you are just doing it because you can and don’t get much out of it I encourage you to reconsider. You could have a fun weekend in Atlantic City with some free gambling, some free food plus a free room or two.
The Hyatt to Mlife match is the reason I was not able to take Borgota up on their offer during my trip to Atlantic City even though my wife was able to. That cost us $70-$80 in winnings and a free buffet lunch 😢.
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If I’ve done the Hyatt to mLife match in years past and don’t do it for a year, will the match still work from Caesars Diamond to mLife in AC for the free night, food, and free play? Also, is it possible to do the Ocean and Hard Rock matches again too?
I have heard that you can do it more than once if your status drops off but I don’t think that is the intent so YMMV on that. Not sure on the other two but it appears Hard Rock has pulled their free play match for the time being.
One group of people who should always match from Hyatt to Mlife are Golden Knights fans. That saves you $20/game in parking fees. I have season tickets and a Hyatt CC saves me over $800, before I even use the free room.
Yeah if you live or drive to Vegas often then getting that free parking is huge!
Hi Mark, can u go to Borgata anytime this year and try to upgrade to gold (thought I saw a post about doing it before the cut off date of Feb.29th) and if upgraded, doesn’t the status reset every October To basic and if so, do u have to call MGM to bump it up? Thanks.
They could change the offer but it has been around for a while now. I know Hard Rock dropped theirs from $100 in freeplay to $50 so maybe Borgota follows their lead on that, not sure.
It does reset on October 1st each year but once you have done the Atlantic City match you could play the Hyatt/Mlife match game from that point on if you wanted to.
[…] I Would Reconsider Matching Mlife and Hyatt Status: Mark from Miles to Memories writes why he may not match these two statuses anymore. I have no plans to go to Atlantic City, so […]
My travel has dipped lately but I still find value of Explorist vs Discoverist (via CC). The best benefits of Explorist for me were both at the Grand Hyatt Kauai; my past 2 visits they’ve comped my valet parking and free spa entry. Amusing that the old freebie Diamond GP is still paying off for me, albeit at lower and lower value each year.
I am surprised they comped the parking, only supposed to be Globalists. That made it worth the match for sure.
Question for you – I thought the status match w M Life (and pretty much all programs) was only for new members (not those at basic level). I do go to Atlantic City, am Diamond Plus Caesar’s Rewards (from gambling not the Wyndham match) and would love to match to a better M Life status. However I have had an M Life account for years since I play poker at Aria on occasion. However I am definitely at the lowest level. Am I eligible for a status match at Borgata or only new members?
I got matched to Mlife Gold last year in AC and I was Mlife Pearl already and had been for about a year.
I believe the terms say it is for new members but works for lower members as rogbre confirmed. I would say if you are already there give it a try for sure.