[Time to hop on board] From zero to hero on the status-match-go-round

98

If you followed this post last year and matched from some other hotel status to Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond, it’s time to match back from Caesars Diamond to Wyndham Diamond. While I matched to Wyndham Diamond last year, it was a temporary challenge. I did not complete the necessary nights and thus my status dropped to “Blue” (general member) in late summer. My Caesars status stuck as was expected (that status expires at the end of January). Today, I successfully matched Caesars Diamond back to Wydnham Diamond. On February 1st, I expect to be able to match back to Caesars Diamond again and hopefully leverage that for another $100 Diamond celebration dinner this year (which as Greg recently mentioned made for one of the most read posts on Frequent Miler in 2018) and free show tickets. If you currently have Caesar’s Diamond status, go here to match back to Wyndham Diamond now. Read on for the original post about how the match works and the updated step 6 section about matching back as outlined in this opening paragraph. H/T to Miles to Memories for the reminder to do this today.

Original post published in May 2019 followed by the newly added Step 6:

We recently posted both here on Frequent Miler and in our Frequent Miler Insiders Facebook group asking readers about topics they’d like to hear about. There were some awesome suggestions that I’m looking forward to covering. One topic that came up a couple of times was status matching. Today I’m not going to cover a complete guide to status matching, but rather a current opportunity to start from zero and end up with useful status in several programs with relative ease – and to possibly bring it full circle to even higher status than one started with.

Real-life motivation

While I’m covering this topic in response to some folks asking for posts on status matching, the particular path I’m outlining today was inspired by an upcoming trip with family. I’m heading to Las Vegas soon for a few days and we’ll be traveling with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. We’ve recently dipped their toes in the miles-and-points pool, getting them set up late last year to earn the Southwest Companion Pass for 2019 and 2020. They did not yet have any hotel credit cards / points / status. We decided to do something heretical in order to better position them for our upcoming trip: my sister-in-law, henceforth referred to as “Sissy” for the purposes of this post, burned a 5/24 spot on the Hilton Honors Surpass card :-O.

Doing so bought her a ticket for the status match merry-go-round, or status-match-go-round if you will.

Why the Surpass?

The Hilton Honors Surpass card comes with automatic Hilton Gold status — good for free breakfast at most Hilton hotels and resorts and some extra points per dollar spent at Hilton. That’s a good deal for the $95 annual fee and leads some to question the value of Hilton Diamond (I’d still argue that the Amex Hilton Honors Aspire is well worth the money, but I’ll come back to why I had Sissy apply for the Surpass over the Aspire in a minutes). She used the link listed on our Best Offers page and set herself up to earn a nice haul of Hilton Honors points once she meets the minimum spending requirements.

A few reasons I suggested Sissy open the Surpass card:

  1. Sissy doesn’t have other hotel points, so she often pays for stays. This way, she’ll get free breakfast and some extra points on those paid stays.
  2. The Surpass card earns 6x at US Supermarkets, US restaurants, and US gas stations and she spends quite a bit in those categories.
  3. The Surpass earns a free weekend night after spending $15K in a calendar year. She’ll likely hit this requirement.
  4. To get on the status-match-go-round

I suggested she open the Surpass instead of the Aspire, despite my strong affinity for the Aspire card, for two reasons:

  1. Upgrade offers from the Surpass to Aspire are pretty common and sometimes as good as the new cardmember offer. She might be able to eventually snag two bonuses with one 5/24 slot.
  2. She might be able to get Hilton Diamond status without the Aspire card….

More on #2 to come in Step 4. But first, here are the steps she took to leverage status matches, starting with Hilton Gold from the Amex Hilton Surpass.

Step 1: Apply for the Surpass

Not much to say here — she applied and was approved for the Hilton Honors Surpass card instantly.

Step 2: Status match Hilton Gold to Wyndham Diamond

Wyndham has been offering a status match since last fall whereby they’ll match your status with another hotel chain (See: Wyndham Rewards Now Offering Status Match Up To Diamond Status). The interesting thing about the status match is that you don’t necessarily need top-tier status in another program to match to Wyndham’s top-tier Diamond status (this varies based on the program from which you match).

Specifically, reports have long indicated that Wyndham Rewards matches both Hilton Diamond and Hilton Gold to Wyndham Rewards Diamond status. Sissy signed up for a new Wyndham Rewards account and therefore had “Blue” status (i.e. no status).

To match, all you need to do is go to this page, sign in, and then:

  1. Choose the competing program with which you have status from the drop-down menu
  2. Type in the status level you have with that program
  3. Attach a screen shot with proof of status. A screen shot of Sissy’s Hilton Honors Gold card sufficed. Simply log in to your Hilton account and on the left side in your account overview click the link that says “My Hilton Honors Card” or find it in the Hilton Honors app under Account->My Account->Hilton Honors card.
  4. Enter any comments in the comments section, then hit submit.

I don’t think any comments are required, but here’s what Sissy wrote at my recommendation:

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing with interest in your status matching program. I’m interested in being matched to Wyndham Diamond status from my current Hilton Gold status. Thank you very much for your time and assistance!

Sincerely,
Sissy

This match took a couple of business days to come through (4 calendar days). Once the match was completed, Sissy received an email with the subject line, “Your profile has been updated”.

After logging in to her account, her Wyndham status was updated from Blue to Diamond.

That was followed by an email the next day from Wyndham confirming Diamond status.

Note that this status match is temporary: you’ll need to complete 14 Wyndham stays within 90 days to maintain Wyndham Diamond status after the match. However, Wyndham Diamond isn’t the goal but rather a stepping stone to the next match.

Step 3: Status match Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond

Wyndham and Caesars developed a partnership last year that offers reciprocal benefits between the two programs (and even the ability to move points between them). One of the reciprocal benefits is a status match. Those with status in either program can match to the other.

In fact, the email from Wyndham confirming that Sissy had been upgraded to Diamond status explicitly stated that she could now match her Wyndham status to Caesars status.

In order to get this part set up, I had Sissy create a Caesars Rewards account online. Signing up online gives you a “temporary” card that you must bring with you (along with an ID) to a casino in order to complete your enrollment.

I wondered if this would prevent the match from Wyndham to Caesars  from working since she wouldn’t get to a physical casino with an ID to complete the sign-up process until we arrive in Las Vegas. As it turns out, it doesn’t prevent you from matching.

The process is simple:

  1. Go to this page
  2. Click the button on the right where it says that you’re a Wyndham Rewards member.
  3. Enter your Wyndham Rewards number on the next page. Note that Sissy had trouble copying and pasting it from the Wyndham site. For some reason, it was leaving out the letter at the end of the number and wouldn’t let her add it. She had to type int th whole number without copying to make it work. She then received the message that her Caesars Rewards tier status would be updated to Diamond within 7 business days.

A few of us in the family have now done this match. While it did not take 7 business days, it took at least 4 or 5 for each of us.

Interlude: Why Caesars Diamond will come in handy

Caesars Diamond status is a pretty cool status to have if you’ll be visiting Vegas as it comes with some great benefits:

  1. Waived resort fees
  2. Two free show tickets per month (to select shows)
  3. A $100 “celebration dinner” (basically a dining credit that can be used towards select restaurants at Caesars properties)
  4. A “free” 4-night stay at Atlantis in the Bahamas (not really free as you have to pay some tax / gratuity and a $50/nt resort fee)
  5. Discounted rooms

For the upcoming trip to Las Vegas, this seemed like a no-brainer.

Single Flyer maintains a list of available shows for the free show tickets (last updated last month). While they aren’t the most sought-after shows in Vegas, free isn’t much of a gamble. I’ve actually always wanted to see the Mac King Comedy show (he’s been playing in Vegas for about 19 years now, which tells me his show probably doesn’t suck), but I wouldn’t be unhappy with a couple of the other shows.

I checked around with some folks who said that two people should be able to use the $100 “celebration dinner” dining credit at the same meal. Single Flyer also maintains a list of eligible restaurants. I’d personally lean towards using it on the Buffet of Buffets, which gives you access to 5 buffets for 24 hours, but I don’t think I’ll persuade the rest of my group to commit to a day of eating Caesars buffets. Still, with a few of us having Caesars Diamond status, we should get a decent enough free meal — which will likely justify the $95 annual fee for Sissy’s Amex Hilton Surpass card in one shot.

Maybe we’ll use the free Atlantis stay benefit, though recent reports at DoC (see the last few comments rather than DoC’s last update) indicate that they are now enforcing a policy that you must gamble or you’ll be charged a nightly rate. Not sure I want to commit to four nights of losing money.

On the other hand, discounted rooms could always come in handy. I just pulled up the month of May flexible date calendar for Las Vegas rooms and room rates are quite good on some dates:

A complimentary stay with no resort fee is my favorite price.

While I haven’t stayed at Rio (just visited), I wouldn’t be particularly excited about staying there due to its location. But those cheap/free nights might come in handy for…

Step 4: Leveraging this into other hotel statuses

Several other hotel chains currently offer status matches.

Best Western

Best Western offers a “status match no catch“. I easily matched to Best Western top-tier status a few years ago and I’m not sure I ever lost that status. Unfortunately, I don’t think that many other programs will match Best Western status, so it’s not terribly useful.

Choice Privileges

Choice Privileges offers a status match as well. They only match to Platinum status (not their top-tier Diamond status). While Platinum status used to mean an award stay booking window that allowed for rooms to be booked farther in advance, now all members can book 100 days in advance. These days, the main benefit of Platinum status is additional points on paid stays.

Hilton Honors

Hilton has also been offering a status match for the past couple of years (See: Match status through March 2020 at Hilton). Hilton matches some competitor statuses to Gold or Diamond status with a requirement to complete 4 stays within 90 days to maintain Gold status or 8 times within 90 days to maintain Diamond status.

Hilton’s status match page lists competitors from which you can match status.

While the drop-down indicates that you can match from Best Western or Choice Privileges, Hilton only matches status from those programs to Hilton Gold according to reports at statusmatcher.com. Unfortunately, reports I’ve read also indicate that Wyndham Rewards Diamond status is matched to Hilton Gold also.

However, I’m intrigued by the “other” category. Could Sissy get Hilton to match Caesars Diamond status to Hilton Diamond? It’s far from a shoe-in, but it’s probably worth a shot. The only problem is that the Hilton status match requires proof of a stay within the past 12 months with the competing hotel program from which you’re trying to match. That means Sissy would have to book a night at a Caesars property (even though we aren’t planning to stay at one). If only she could pick up a free ni–….hmm….

It probably won’t work, but it’s worth a shot. If she can turn Hilton Gold into Hilton Diamond by hopping on the merry-go-round, that’d be fun.

Step 5: Try to match to MGM Mlife Gold

There are some reports of success in matching Caesars Diamond status to MGM Mlife Gold status in Las Vegas. There are also many reports of failure to match. It’s worth a shot, so I’ll have Sissy give it a go at an MGM casino or two while we’re in Vegas.

While MGM Mlife Gold status isn’t amazing, it gives you several key benefits in Las Vegas:

  1. Priority Check-in line (this can be yuge at busy times)
  2. Dedicated buffet/restaurant lines (also a potential time-saver)
  3. Complimentary valet or self-parking (which beats paying for it)

While you need Platinum status to bypass the taxi line outside of MGM properties, I’ve flashed my Gold card before and skipped the line.

Of course, the other benefit of Mlife Gold is that you can match to Hyatt Explorist. While that no longer comes with the club lounge access awards (now you have to stay to get those benefits), you’ll at least earn a bit more on paid stays, get 2pm late checkout at Hyatt properties, and now and then get a decent upgrade. I recently got a nice upgrade at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo despite my lowly Explorist status (to a larger studio-suite-type-room). Sissy could probably stand to benefit from those things and to set herself up to potentially get on a merry-go-ground between Hyatt and M life.

Step 6: Match back to Wyndham Diamond in the new year

Wyndham status and Caesar’s status operate on different calendars and that can be leveraged to maintain status long-term (for as long as this lasts, anyway).

Wyndham status ends on December 31st, with a new year beginning on January 1st. If you previously completed the match shown above and did not complete the stays necessary to maintain Wyndham Diamond status, your Wyndham status likely reverted to “Blue” on or before January 1st.

In my case, I had a handful of Wydnham stays last year, so I actually qualified for Wyndham Gold status. Therefore, on January 1st, my Wyndham status showed Gold.

However, Caesars status operates on a different calendar, with Caesars status being valid through January 31st. This means that since I matched from Wydnham Diamond to Caesars Diamond last year, my Caesars status was still Diamond on January 1st and until January 31st.

Therefore, I went to this page on the Caesars website and clicked where it says “I’m a Caesars Member. Match my status” so that I could match from Caesars to Wyndham.

That brought me to a Wydnham Rewards page. I had already logged in there in a separate tab, so it automatically populated the key info — I just had to enter my Caesars Rewards number.

I then got instant confirmation that the match was successful. Sure enough, I immediately went to “My Account” and my Wyndham status was updated to Diamond.

On February 1st, when my Caesars status drops, I plan to return to the same page and click the box under “I am a Wyndham Rewards Member. Match my status”. At that point, I expect my Wyndham Rewards status will be matched back to Caesars Diamond, which I expect to leverage into another $100 meal in Las Vegas. Each of my family members who matched last year will do the same and maybe we’ll have to roll the dice on another cheap trip to Vegas.

Bottom line

Hotel status from a single credit card can be leveraged into status with a handful of programs. I’m intrigued to find out if this match can bring the merry-go-round all the way back to Hilton Diamond status. Even if not, if you’re planning to take a trip to Las Vegas, matching Hilton to Wyndham to Caesars can certainly be pretty valuable. Between the $100 celebration dinner and 2 free show tickets, we’ll easily get more value than the annual fee on the Surpass card. If our travel plans put us near a Caesars property any time over the course of the rest of the year, you can bet I’ll be inquiring about what show tickets are available for Diamond members. And while we don’t visit casino areas very often, I’ll be on the lookout for other complimentary night offers, especially since my wife and I are playing in 2-player double Diamond mode. And even more fun than all that is seeing Sissy get a taste of the good life in using the system to her benefit for a free meal, maybe a free room, and free show tickets — after all, the joy of free is what attracted most of us to this game in the first place. Thanks be to Caesar for being the founder of a free feast to come.

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[…] you initiate the status match, it says it will be done within 7 business days.  Nick at Frequent Miler noted it took less than that for his […]

Kayexelate

Did Wyndham extend their tier status into 2021? I had Wyndham Diamond in 2020 and on 12/31/20 I got notification that I was going to be demoted to Gold, but i just logged in now and my Wyndham account still shows Diamond. (I had no stays last year)
My Caesers account still shows diamond and it says through 1/31/22. I didn’t requalify or have any stays, so I presume the extended it 2ndry to CoVid. do you think Wyndham did the same (but then why the email stating I got demoted to Gold?)

[…] hotel front, Wyndham unfortunately discontinued its status match program (which was a great way to hop on board the status-match-go round), though you can still get Wyndham Diamond from the business credit card and execute a similar […]

[…] hold with Caesars Rewards will be extended to January 31, 2022. That’s good news for those riding the status-match-go-round both because it means you are all set for 2021 and because Caesars has maintained a calendar that […]

[…] This should still work out fine for those riding the status-match-go-round. […]

[…] Casino status matching how-to […]

Chris

Can I match Hilton to Wyndham a second time? I missed rematching my Caesars back to Wyndham, or do I need to setup a new Wyndham account?

Sam

Thanks Nick. It’s after 31 January, so status at Caears down to Gold….BUT…..Rinse and repeat done. I’ll be Caesars Diamond AGAIN in a week!!!! Woohoo!!!

And fwiw, I agree, a freind and I just went to Hell’s Kitchen in LV. Not great. Wouldn’t go back. But the $100 credit was delectable. Scrumpdilitious!!! Yummy!!! Mouth-watering!!!

Btw, once Diamond status at Caesars kicks back in, do I have that status for a full year (i.e. till January 31, 2021) as opposed to only a couple of months of diamond status with Wyndham?

[…] that said, since I currently have Caesars Diamond status and will hopefully re-match to it tomorrow when my status expires, I’d probably be equally likely to consider Caesars properties for my next Las Vegas trip […]

ThaigerNation

Datapoints:

Starting point: Hilton Gold (via Surpass card)
Jan 6: successfully matched Hilton Gold to Wyndham Diamond (valid for 90 days)
Jan 10: successfully matched Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond valid through 1/31/2021

Next steps are to book a cheapo rate with Caesars to try and leverage this into Hilton Diamond.

Ben

Did you ever manage to get the Hilton diamond

Lonnell

Are there any options out there for airline status using hotel status, outside of the Hyatt Globalist lifetime option. I have Southwest A-list and companion pass, but my experience is airlines choose not to recognize those for some reason.

Brandon

Nick: great article and great updates! My question for you is, When should I initiate this process now in the new year if I have not gone through it in the past? If I match to Wyndham Diamond now, and then on to Caesars’ status, should I wait until February 1st to do so? If I do it now, will my Caesars’ status still end on January 31st, 2020?

losingtrader

Wasting your time. All of you are invited to stay at my house in Vegas. For example I entertained a college friend’s son and his buddies for 4 nights over NYE and one of them stole $1400 from my wallet on the way out of the house. Free room, free food, free money!
Besides, there isn’t another show in town that features 3 cloned dogs, all of whom constantly bring you toys to throw for them, and the attack the TV in unison whenever there’s a dog barking .( I never thought about this problem when I installed surround sound in 7 rooms).

Caesar’s Pshaw. They ain’t giving you no free Netflix.

Gambling? We’ll hit all the local 24 hour joints. It will be a grand tour of the lowest limit gaming you can find in old Henderson , including the 99c hotdog and shrimp cocktail guaranteed to leave you in the bathroom……where I have installed bidets on every toilet.

Wayne

Aside from obtaining Caesars Diamond Status to obtain some decent perks at Caesars, is there much value in obtaining Wyndham Diamond status itself? I have an upcoming reward stay at the all-inclusive Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace in Dominican Republic. Luckily, I made the reservation just before Wyndham removed the property from their rewards program last June. At the time I made the reward reservation, I was and still am a Wyndham blue member. If I do the status match from Hilton Gold to Wyndham Diamond, do you think it will matter at this particular property? If so, would it show me as a Wyndham Diamond at check in or would I have to update the reservation?

Wayne

I figured that was the case and I wouldn’t expect they’d do anything at this property. I guess it’s easy enough to find out. Better view would be a surprise, but I’ll enjoy it either way. Thanks Nick!

Chad

Would there be any problem if I attempted to status match Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond before Caesars technically expires 1/31/20? Would my current Caesars Diamond simply be extended?

veeRob

Update?

veeRob

Sorry to hear, Nick. Perhaps they’re just sick of having you around after you being gone for the 40k challenge. 😛

jeph36

I just did the Wyndham status match request (from Hilton Diamond thanks to the Aspire), so we will see how it all goes. A few questions maybe someone can help clear up:
1. I will be in Vegas for 1 night next week and then again in March for several days. I will likely not have Wyndham Diamond status followed by Caesars Diamond by for next week. Can I go to a casino to get my physical card prior to the match and then finish the match later in January so I can use the perks immediately in March? Or do I need to wait until the match happens before I get my in-casino card?
2. Is it possible to gift either the $100 buffet or 2 show tickets perks without being there in person? Neither has huge value to me, but would mean a lot more to some of my sales team who occasionally visits Vegas for conferences.

jeph36

Thanks for the detailed reply. Based on that, I am not going to try to do anything next week when I hardly have any extra time anyway. Since I am unlikely to personally use the Caesars perks, I might just skip getting a physical Caesars card at all and instead just do it all online for a Wyndham status re-up each year … and a possible Hilton status (if I reset to the no-fee Hilton Amex). If reports of success adding the MLife/Hyatt leg are positive, then I might reconsider and visit a couple casinos to get that going as well.

ConfusedT

Hi! I am in the same boat and just got my Surpass card. I am waiting for Wyndham response in Step 2 and will do step 3 after that. I have read this article a few times and I am confused how to get Elite status with MLife. I understand hilton to Wyndham to Caesars, but how to do I get to MLife in Step 5. Appreciate the clarification. Thanks!

Update – I reread the comments and looks like I need to visit the MGM casino once my Caesars status is updated. Is there a way to do it online ? The pic mentioned in Step 4, how do I get to that in hhonors account ?

Rob P

I get the Caesars Diamond from the Founders Card, which I was able to get locked in at $295 a year I also have the Surpass card. Do you think I should cancel Founders Card? The Caesars Diamond pays for itself at $295/year for me. i know the Caesars – Wyndham partnership and Hilton – Wyndham status matching won’t last forever. Thank you.

[…] For what it’s worth, this wasn’t my original plan. Since I’d written about the status-match-go-round a few months ago, I thought an awesome start to my trip would be Las Vegas. A few months back, […]

Shannon OShaughnessy

And I sent an email to Caesar’s rewards to find out why, and no reply to date.

john

That happened to me as well. An email to caesars solved the problem. I used the contact form on their website.

Shannon OShaughnessy

I am beyond frustrated. I worked my tail off to finally get a tier status to get me Wyndham diamond. It seemed clear that it would be a given to match the tier to caesars. However, I have tried the tier match 3 times now and have not been awarded the caesars diamond. I am still gold. What am I doing wrong?!

[…] Hilton has today announced changes to its status match program. Unfortunately, the news is not good: effective today, Hilton no longer offers a direct match to Diamond but instead requires you to match to temporary Gold and then meet a minimum number of nights to keep Gold or upgrade to Diamond. While that makes sense from a loyalty perspective, it’s a bummer for those who planned a future match, especially those who had their sights set on the status match-go-round. […]

jili1409

Excellent article that I’ve gone through many times in my merry-go-around journey. Don’t know if any one has done this. I’ve been able to find some great deals on LasVegas.com to book stays. Has any one booked a stay at one of the Caesar’s Rewards locations through this website if the price was better and then, once you had your physical diamond member card when you got there, asked for resort fees to be waived, etc.? Usually, the deals mention that the resort fee is due at the time of check in. Just curious. Also, the 2 free show tickets – can you use them one ticket at a time or both together?
Thanks!!

Miria

Hello everyone,

When you status match Hilton Gold (obtained through Ascend) to Caesar’s Diamond, how long does that Diamond status last? Does it last for that current year? Does it expire at the end of the next year? And if so, if I chose not to take on the 14 Day challenge with Wyndham (after the first time I status matched), does that mean I have to status match my Hilton Gold to Wyndham again, and match Wyndham to Caesars again?

[…] up some easy Caesars Rewards credits, this could be the way to do it. If you’ve hopped on the status-match-go-round and matched to Caesars Diamond status, you may be interested in checking out one of the Diamond lounges. You need 1,000 Rewards […]

Chucky No

When you match Hilton Gold to Wynham Diamond, it’s for 90 days. When you status match from Wyndham Diamond to Caesar’s Diamond, how long is the Caesar’s Diamond good for?

Chucky No

sorry, i must have missed it. thanks.

[…] day late and a dollar short — story of my life. If you were recently inspired by my status matching shenanigans and would like to put it all on red in Las Vegas (or just get some free show tickets, a free $100 […]

Alli

Did Caesar’s Diamond match to Hilton Diamond?

Joe Giorgianni

They keep turning me down twice. I stayed at Caesars last October. Not sure why they don’t accept my proof.

Joe Giorgianni

Latest email from Hilton today – “We apologize for not accommodating your request as Caesars Rewards is not in our Competitors list.”

[…] you’d like to enjoy your Caesars stay even more with Caesars Rewards Diamond status read Nick Reyes’ excellent outline for status matching over at Frequent Miler. You’ll need status with a hotel chain to make this happen – for those who aren’t […]

Adam

Hi Nick, kind of late to this post, but three days ago i submitted a match from Wyndham Diamond to CR Diamond, still nothing (i know it takes couple of days), would you wait for the match to complete in order to book hotels in Atlantic City for a planned trip? (May 29-June1) or just book and maybe the resort fees will be waived, not sure if the room rates will be cheaper also?
Thanks!

robertw

great post. Ill go for this

Ramen

Is the two show tickets and $100 dining credit only one use or is it renewed annually?

trackback

[…] recently wrote about hopping on the status-match-go-round by matching credit card hotel status to Wyndham Diamond in order to end up with Caesar’s […]

Kristina

Match accepted.

[…] on a couple of status matches currently available for those with some sort of hotel status (See: From zero to hero on the status-match-go-round). In that post, the final step I mentioned was matching to Hilton Diamond. Hilton has had a status […]

Sir Jim

Nick – great article – I plan to try it to get the Hyatt explorist. Question: Where did you get the pic of the Merry-Go-Round? I am 80 years old and I have Never seen one – they are extremely rare (MGR’s turn clockwise & Carousel’s turn counter-clock-wise). I read recently that there is one in Paris !

Lonnell

Where do we find the flexible calendar for Las Vegas rooms?

Gary

Has anybody else has the experience of not receiving the match from Wyndham? I helped my friend submit a screen capture of his Hilton Gold card, but it’s been weeks, and he hasn’t heard anything from them, and hasn’t been upgraded.
I was thinking it was because there’s no expiration date on the Card. But I can’t even see anywhere on Hilton’s site, where they actually show one’s status expiration date.
Had anybody else simply sent in a screenshot of their Hilton card, and was successful?

Gary

Thanks Nick!

Moe

How did you get that monthly calendar of Caesar’s properties/rates? Is that through the Total Rewards website?

Moe

If you go this route: Hitlon Diamond > Wyndham Diamond > Caesar’s Diamond via matching. What happens to the Caesar’s Diamond status if you don’t sustain the Wyndham Diamond (not complete the required stays in 90 days)? Will it still carry on through the calendar year? Thanks

Sean

Thanks for the tips Nick. Wyndham seems to be the secret gem here… When I look at their status match page it seems like they’ll also match to IHG Platinum and a lot of other programs. I guess the big question, as you mention in comments above, is whether we can use the match multiple times. If I use Wyndham to match over to Caesars and then MGM Gold and Hyatt Explorist, can I still then indefinitely do MGM->Hyatt->MGM->Hyatt etc. even long after I lose Wyndham and Caesars? I have the Hyatt card and Discoverist, but this almost seems to good to be true. I’m probably missing something here…

Josh

Thanks for the scoop Nick, I’m actually in the process of doing this right now so super timely! Looks like the link for which restaurants are included in the Caesers Diamond $100 perk goes to the “list of available shows” site instead.

Alan - SingleFlyer

Thanks for the link!

Aloha808

Does getting an upgrade on the ascend to aspire preclude one from receiving an initial SUB on the aspire down the road?

Justin

Why did she apply using the link on the Best Offers page and not a referral from someone? Referrals have been 150k for a while

Justin

right, but with a referral the referee would’ve also earned points.

DNTravel

To take advantage of the free dinner and free show tickets, does one need to be staying at a Caesar’s property?

DNTravel

It’s as simple as just going to one of the properties (any recommedations on which property to go to? Staying at the Delano) and asking for it? First time to vegas on May 11th so this will def come in handy. Seems as if since I started today, it should give me enough time to get through the process by then *fingers crossed*

DNTravel

Very helpful. Your help is much appreciated!

colleen

any comment to those who feel they should run out and complete these matches right away but should be aware of lifetime restrictions on matching in a given program?

Drolma-la

Choice Privlieges will only status match you once. Ever.

Leo

All that (and a $95 fee) to get the $100 dinner…. No wonder so many of our friends and family don’t want to put up with all the hoops we churners go through. At least you didn’t use a click-bait heading like “free $100 dinner in Vegas…” for this post.

CaveDweller

Yes VIP check in u need !! I stayed @ Hooters across the street (Airport view) and it’s like the Super bowl @ check-in . It’s Fun to watch and a total mess.too.
CHEERs

Marty (MRP Alert)

I used 2 Diamond celebrations for dinner at Giada. Hit me up for a beer when you’re in town.

Creditian

Matched MGM Gold with Caesar Diamond at Borgata (Atlantic City, NJ), pretty smooth, many people doing the same thing there

Alex

if you can get to Atlantic City, it’s easy to match Caesars Diamond to Mlife Gold:
https://www.theborgata.com/casino/m-life-rewards/m-life-rewards-gold-trade-up

Naz

When you did the match how long did it take for the complimentary room to be available? Could you use it same day?

RKToledo

BA blogger Jetsetter just posted a cautionary post about the Caesars Diamond $100 celebration benefit. Can’t use $100 untilt credit has posted to card after 7-10 days. He could not use credit on his first trip to Vegas. I would make sure credit is available on your card before paying for a dinner.

jili1409

I got the Caesar’s rewards card this weekend and used the $100 credit immediately with absolutely no issues. They do warn you that if you want to use it at Rio’s, Bally’s and one other place, you have to print out the coupon. I used mine at one of the restaurants in Caesar’s palace and had no issues.

losingtrader

Use it for the “buffet of buffet” passes which gets you into all the Caesars buffets in 24 hours. Pay the upcharge for the Caesars’s buffet, and you’re still at around $100. That’s 6 buffets in 24 hours. Yes, YOU ARE A FAT SLOB if you can eat all 6. But, that’s why Vegas had to buy special ambulances that can carry people weighing up to 650 lbs.

Since I know quite a few “servers” (er, waiters) at the high-end restaurants, I wouldn’t leave more than a 15% tip if you go that route. The reason is they will bad-mouth you to colleagues if you leave less than 25%….really. I had to listen to a group of entitled waiters complain about 20% tips. While on that tangent, never leave more than $5 for a buffet where they serve only drinks. I don’t care if it’s a $10 or a $70 buffet. It’s the same work. Not sure what to do at Bellagio since you get your own drink , which in my mind is smart –so I leave $5 pp anyway. It’s worth $5 to avoid having a waiter bothering you.

Mel

I think you mean to say LEAVE MORE THAN 15%.

Kathy (will run for miles)

Can you match MGM Gold to Caesars Diamond?

Michael

Yes

losingtrader

I’ve been meaning to waddle over to a Caesars property and do this after cutting the buffet line at Bellagio (which, I might point out for the uninitiated Vegas buffet eater, has fallen mightily in my rankings. It’s impossible to find any protein for breakfast other than eggs and egg whites, ham , or prime rib. Bacon doesn’t count). So, head to the Wynn and pay the $16 for the line pass.