Las Vegas Loyalty Guide: Marriott Bonvoy and Cosmopolitan’s Identity Rewards

Marriott Rewards Partnership Vegas

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is a Marriott Autograph Collection Brand Hotel. Cosmopolitan has it’s own player’s club known as “Identity Rewards”. (A player’s club is simply a casino loyalty program, similar to hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy Rewards but for casinos instead.) While Marriott Bonvoy is Cosmo’s loyalty program for hotel stays, there is a strategic alliance between Identity rewards and Marriott Rewards. Thanks to the Marriott Rewards Partnership Vegas those who have elite status with Marriott Bonvoy will receive their usual elite status benefits at the Cosmopolitan since it’s a Marriott hotel.

Check out my post here to see how to get much cheaper rates at Cosmo using Marriotts Price Match: Combine Hotels.com Sale & Marriott Best Rate Guarantee for Amazing Deal

Here’s a link to the video covering the partnership and a few of the tricks I use that I didn’t think I should put in writing (AKA the good stuff.) Also please give me a thumbs up and be sure to subscribe with every email you’ve ever had.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is my favorite casino in Vegas because it’s luxurious, newer than other casinos and has some of the best restaurants.  Here’s a review of the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. 

This Guide will show you how to maximize this partnership to get a ton of value and awesome perks like free nights, room upgrades, free food and more!

Read: 2020 Caesars Rewards Guide (Plus Earning and Redeeming Tier Credits, Rewards Credits and Benefits)

Identity Rewards Program Highlights

Identity is undervalued for the following reasons:

• Lots of points on spend
• Benefits after only small amount of spend anywhere at the hotel including retail purchases
• Free night with lowest tier status
• points can transfer to Marriott at a fair price
• Transparency
• Very nice rooms

Also Read: Try This Trick to Find Valuable World Mastercard Benefits

Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status Perks at Cosmopolitan

Marriott Platinum at the Cosmopolitan:

• Platinum check-in (to the left of the main desks)
• Arrival gift of $10 food and beverage coupon or 500 points
• Room upgrade (subject to availability)
• Free tea/coffee at Platinum check-in (6am-noon)
• 15% discount at the Wicked Spoon when staying at property

Marriott Gold:

• Autograph check-in
• Free tea/coffee at Autograph check-in
• Room upgrade (subject to availability)
• Late check-out

Members who already have status with Bonvoy can expect to receive all of their usual perks and elite benefits including late checkout, welcome amenities and upgrades. As with most casino properties you can charge almost everything you spend during your stay to your room, in which case you’ll earn a minimum of 10 Bonvoy points per dollar.

How to Earn Cosmopolitan Identity Rewards Status

STERLING: 4,000+ TIER POINTS ($800 in spend or combination of spend and gambling credit)

• 1 complimentary room night per year.
• 2X slot multipliers.Complimentary self-parking.
• One 2-for-1 Wicked Spoon buffet per month.
• 2-for-1 Opium tickets.
• Personalized offers.
• Dedicated reservation line.

GOLD: 20,000+ TIER POINTS ($4K Spend or combination of spend and gambling credit)

• 2 complimentary room nights per year.
• 2 complimentary companion room nights per year.
• 2X slot multipliers.
• One 2-for-1 Wicked Spoon buffet per day with priority access.
• 2-for-1 Opium, concert & show tickets.
• 2-for-1 special event tickets.
• Concert express entry.
• Complimentary resort fee.
• Complimentary valet and self-parking.
• Early check-in and late check-out when available.
• Personalized offers.
• Dedicated reservation line.

PLATINUM 50,000+ TIER POINTS ($10K Spend or gaming/spend combination)

• At least 2 complimentary room nights per year.*
• 2 complimentary companion room nights per year.*
• Complimentary room upgrades when available.
• 3X slot multipliers.**
• One 2-for-1 Wicked Spoon buffet per day with priority access.
• 2-for-1 Opium, concert & show tickets.***
• 2-for-1 special event tickets.***
• Concert express entry. ***
• Complimentary resort fee.
• Complimentary valet and self-parking.
• Early check-in and late check-out when available.
• Guaranteed valet and expedited taxi service.
• Airport transportation.
• Invited guest check-in line.
• $250 annual resort credit.
• Personalized offers.
• Dedicated reservation line.

How to Maximize Bonvoy’s Partnership with Cosmopolitan’s Identity Rewards Program

Identity members earn 5 Points per dollar spent anywhere at the resort and free nights begin at just 4,000 Tier Points. In case math’s not your thing, that means you only have to spend $800 to receive elite status benefits. Sterling, the lowest level of status at Cosmo actually offers a ton of value. As I mentioned before it comes with a free night including taxes and resort fees as well as a monthly BOGO at Wicked Spoon Buffet and a 100% multiplier on points earned from slots.

Creative Ways to Maximize Marriott Rewards Partnership Vegas Cosmopolitan

2 Player Mode:

The official policy for Identity Rewards is that the person who is paying the bill is the person who earns the Identity Reward’s points, so I like to book the room under one person and have the other person pay the bill. This way, you can earn the elite night credit on whichever account needs qualifying nights and the identity rewards points for the other person. If you want to know how to double dip- you’ll have to watch my video (trust me, you’ll want to do that if you plan on staying in Vegas anytime soon.)

Get the Timing Right:

The cool thing about Identity is that there’s no set qualification period to earn status, it’s a rolling 365 day period. So let’s say you know you’re close to earning status but won’t be back for a while, you can defer the last bit of spend or play toward earning status so that you have the benefits when you want them. This is a little complicated so let’s look at an example of how timing can help you maximize- last year I earned Sterling Status from mostly spend at the hotel. I’m currently Sterling through July 6th, 2020 and have 5,000 Tier Points. If I earn 15,000 more tier points prior to July 6, I will be upgraded to Gold even though I didn’t actually earn my current 5k in the same year.

The other cool thing about the rolling period is that it gives people who don’t need waived resort fees a lot of flexibility to earn Sterling Status twice by letting it lapse and then re-qualifying. (That’s a requisite spend of $1600 rather than $4,000 and I’m willing to bet not too many people will save $2400 on resort fees in a year.)

Convert Identity Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy Points

Another feature of this partnership that offers travelers a ton of flexibility for rewards you earn at Cosmo is the ability to transfer points between the programs. You can convert Identity Rewards points after you’ve earned your desired status at a rate of 5:4- which is a pretty good transfer ratio, especially if you’re double dipping.

(Not recommended) To convert Marriott Bonvoy points to Identity Points, visit marriottrewards.com to request a point transfer; points converted to Identity can be used as resort credit or Identity Play but won’t contribute to your tier status.

Maximize Marriott Rewards Partnership Vegas Cosmopolitan: Final Thoughts

While I certainly see the value and think this is an excellent opportunity, this partnership is not without it’s drawbacks. Unlike the more extensive Wyndham/Caesars and MLife/Hyatt partnerships, Identity/Bonvoy is limited to stays at one hotel in Las Vegas and does not include any reciprocal elite benefits for casino elites. I also try to stay as far away from Marriott as possible, so for me that’s another negative point. Let me know if you’re interested in a post describing several ways to book and how the value adds up. 🙂

In my experience I always get upgraded at Cosmo thanks to my Marriott Gold Status that I received through the Platinum Card.