MGM Marriott Partnership Guide: Bonvoyed or Not Bonvoyed?

MGM Marriott Partnership Guide

Marriott Hotels and MGM Resorts recently announced a new partnership. This provides benefits for guests staying at either hotel chain, such as earning points and late checkout. It is certainly a downgrade from the Hyatt partnership, but it is also better than nothing. Let’s dive into this the MGM-Marriott Partnership guide.

What Happened to the Hyatt Partnership?

Unfortunately, news broke in July that the Hyatt-MGM partnership will be ending. This news was considered to be a major loss across the world of miles and points. Not only was having waived resort fees good, but the real benefit was the opportunity to do mattress runs. If you had Globalist/Explorist status, then you could match it to MGM Gold. And since both statuses have waived resort fees, then it was often possible to get ~$20 rooms at the Excalibur midweek. Mobile check-in was also possible, which meant that you could do this from anywhere in the U.S. It is also possible to get rooms at the Rio for $20-23 a night, but you can’t check in remotely.

I think the main reason for the partnership ending was simply that MGM was not making a lot of money from this partnership. The fact that Explorists were getting such cheap rooms was not great for MGM. But previously, the perks Hyatt Explorists get with 30 nights (MGM Gold) are now what Marriott Ambassadors get for 100 nights and $23,000 in spend. In addition, Marriott has a far bigger base of members compared to MGM, which is yet another reason that they found Marriott favorable.

MGM Marriott Partnership Guide – How Does the Partnership Work?

Contrary to Hyatt, you need to book all Marriott stays through a Marriott booking channel. So similar to booking a Courtyard stay, you would book on the Marriott website. This is a bit of a drawback, as MGM tends to offer discounts on stays. So for example, the cheapest day in April is $168 (with resort fee) on the MGM website or $189 on the Marriott website. This is for the same room, so unless the benefits are good or you need elite nights, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to book through Marriott.

Note that for some reason, Delano and Nomad are not part of the partnership. It might have something to do with the complications of licensing as these names are licensed from other companies, but I’m not entirely sure.

How do I Get Benefits at MGM Resorts as a Bonvoy Member?

If you are a Bonvoy member and book through MGM, you get the following benefits:

How Do I Get Marriott Benefits as an MGM Rewards Member?

For MGM members, I think the benefits are a lot better. MGM members can match their status to the following:

• MGM Gold matches to Marriott Silver
• MGM Platinum matches to Marriott Gold
• MGM Noir matches to Marriott Ambassador

Although Noir does require a lot of gambling, getting guaranteed Marriott Ambassador is pretty incredible, as the status requires $23,000 in spending each year. But then again, Noir requires an astronomical amount of spending too.

Is This an Upgrade or a Downgrade?

Overall, I consider this to be a major downgrade. These benefits are only attainable for the highest of MGM/Marriott spenders. If you are a Marriott Gold member, which equates to what Explorist is in Hyatt, then the benefits are pretty much useless.

Nonetheless, if you are an Ambassador, then this change is a major positive. There are likely very few Ambassador members staying at the hotel at one time, so these benefits are likely much more exclusive.

In addition to the benefits Ambassadors have, these benefits now also apply to the MGM properties outside of Vegas, which are the Beau Rivage and Borgata, as well as the MGM Grands in Detroit, National Harbor, and Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hyatt partnership only applied to Vegas properties, which is a positive.

MGM Marriott Partnership Guide – Are There Any Loopholes in this Partnership?

Not really. If you have Ambassador status, you are already spending a staggering amount of money at Marriott properties, meaning mattress runs are unnecessary.

What Brands Are These Resorts Part Of?

The MGM properties are all part of different brands. It doesn’t make as much of a difference as Hyatt, where you can earn a Free Night Certificate for every 5 unique hotel brands that you stay at. In addition, all but 4 are part of the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy. The ones that aren’t are:

• Bellagio, which is part of the Luxury Collection
• Aria and the Cosmopolitan, both of which are part of the Autograph Collection
• Park MGM which is now part of the Tribute Portfolio

The best part of these properties becoming part of Marriott is that some of them are now part of Marriott STARS and Luminous. These are both travel agent programs and provide the following benefits, which are as follows:

Luminous:

• A welcome amenity
• Breakfast for 2 once a day per room
• Free Wi-Fi
• Early check-in and late checkout (when available)
• A one-category upgrade (if available at check-in)
• A personalized welcome note

STARS:

• A welcome amenity decided by the advisor and hotel
• Breakfast for two daily
• A $100 property credit once per stay
• Free Wi-Fi
• Early check-in and late check-out (when available)
• Complimentary upgrade (if available at check-in)
• A personalized welcome note

The Bellagio and MGM Grand are part of STARS, whereas the Cosmopolitan, Vdara, Mandalay Bay, Aria, and Park MGM are all part of Luminous. I would assume that MGM Grand is part of STARS because of the SkyLofts. But if not, getting $99 rooms with a $60 breakfast credit and a $100 property credit is incredible. If you are interested in booking one of these properties, feel free to email me at [email protected].

MGM-Marriott Partnership Guide – Final Thoughts

Overall, the MGM-Marriott partnership is a major downgrade. Yes, it is good for Ambassador members, as there are far fewer members. But for World of Hyatt loyalists, as well as their Marriott equivalents, this is a major downgrade. But I will say, something is better than nothing. At least Platinum members and higher will get at least 2 cups of coffee and possibly a muffin for free. 😉

What are your thoughts on the Marriott/MGM partnership? Let me know in the comments below!