(EXPIRED) Wynn Las Vegas status match: Get a “free” Holland America cruise with Caesars Diamond (with some “gotchas”)

At the beginning of the month, news broke from Miles Talk that Wynn Las Vegas is once again offering a temporary status match, which TravelZork had teased would be forthcoming. This one could be particularly appealing for readers who are planning to be in Las Vegas before the end of May since Caesars Diamond status, which you can get (indirectly) from a credit card, matches to a level of status that can qualify for a complimentary Holland America cruise. However, you must go to Las Vegas in person to execute this match and there are a couple of extra requirements and potential roadblocks to the cruise.

Yes, you have to go to Las Vegas. No, you can’t do it online or in [insert anywhere else]

I’m including this header and section because the question comes up any time there’s a casino match: almost all casino status matches require going to the casino in person to execute the march. This is one of those situations: the match is only being offered in Las Vegas, you have to go in person to do it, and you must meet other requirements in Las Vegas. There’s no way around that.

Because of the requirements, this opportunity is likely to appeal far more to west coast-based readers and/or those who already have near-term plans to visit Las Vegas. The timing will be tough for those of us on the east coast.

The Wynn tier match promotion

From April 1 to May 31, 2024, Wynn Rewards is offering a tier match whereby you can match various loyalty tiers at other competing casinos to corresponding status at Wynn. This is a partial list (you can see the rest of it here):

The option that is likely to be of high interest to many readers is the chance to match Caesars Diamond to Wynn Platinum. While Platinum is not Wynn’s top status tier, it comes with a number of benefits that will be of interest, including:

• Complimentary $100 spa credit
• Complimentary $150 birthday dinner credit (can be used any date in the month of your birth)
• 2 complimentary Wynn Master Classes for two guests
• Complimentary* Holland America Line cruise for two guests in an ocean view cabin — but, read on below more on the asterisk here

That’s a nice set of perks for someone matching from Caesars Diamond. As a reminder, anyone who has or gets the Wyndham Business Earner credit card gets automatic Wyndham Diamond status and through Wyndham’s partnership with Caesars Rewards, you can match Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond — and that is the rare casino match that can be done online (likely because it’s a partnership between the two brands rather than an attempt to get your gambling dollars from a competitor). That entire process takes a few weeks. First, it takes somewhere between a few days and a week for your Wyndham status to update to Diamond. Then, the match from Wyndham to Caesars is expected to take about two weeks — but it often fails. Earlier this week, I sent a family member to this post to read about how to get help pushing the match through. She followed the instructions and had Caesars Diamond two days later.

Details: Holland America Line free cruise from Wynn Rewards tier match

Update 5/18/24: Continue on for a Fine Hotels & Resorts data point below.

Potentially the most valuable benefit among the Wynn Platinum benefits is the complimentary cruise for two on Holland America Line. However, this time around, things aren’t so straight-forward as they have been with other matches.

That’s because the cruise benefit has an additional requirement: to get it, you must have made two non-consecutive stays at Wynn last year or you must make two non-consecutive stays at Wynn this year. In other words, if you haven’t stayed at Wynn twice last year or twice this year (note: once last year and once this year does not count), then you’re going to at least make two one-night bookings that aren’t on consecutive nights.

Furthermore, I’ve been hearing rumblings that there must be at least 72 hours between those stays, though I haven’t been able to verify that for sure. If you do need 72 hours between stays (rather than arriving on night one, going somewhere else for night 2, and checking back in at Wynn on night 3), that will make it quite a bit harder for those looking to make a “quick” trip to Las Vegas to satisfy the requirements.

I initially assumed that this would make for a good use of an Amex Platinum card FHR credit since Wynn is available via Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts. Note that Wynn does not waive resort fees based on elite status (my understanding is that they only waive resort fees when you’re on a complimentary stay). Therefore, you’ll still be on the hook for the $50 resort fee plus tax (which I believe is 13% on both the room rate and the resort fee). Still, some nights have a nightly rate just below $200 before tax, so it makes for a near-perfect use of the $200 Amex Platinum card credit, though you’ll be on the hook for about $56 for the resort fee & resort fee tax (and ~$25 in tax on the room if you booked a night with a rate of exactly $200).

However, I don’t yet know for sure whether a stay booked via Fine Hotels & Resorts will count toward the two stays required for the Holland America cruise. Unlike most online travel agencies, most Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings have often counted for elite status and hotel rewards points in most programs, which led me to expect that it would work here. But then I realized that I don’t know for sure whether an FHR booking will work — and if it doesn’t, that could make for an expensive mistake (especially if you book a more expensive night).

The alternative is of course booking directly with Wynn. If you do book directly through Wynn, you’ll want to join the Wynn Rewards program online first as the rates are cheaper for members (as is a near universal truth with casino resorts). For instance, one night I checked had a nightly rate of $237 via Fine Hotels & Resorts and an all-in price of $325. Booking directly via Wynn as a Wynn Rewards member was $282 with a flexible rate (it would have been less for a nonrefundable rate of course).

However, I’ve also anecdotally heard that (separate from this specific match) Wynn tends to focus on your play. Apparently, Wynn books the Holland America cruise for you (rather than you contacting Holland America to do it yourself), so I’ve been told that service in the booking process and availability may not be stellar if you just make your stays at Wynn and don’t gamble much. That could make this deal more questionable unless you were already planning to go to Las Vegas and would have considered staying at Wynn).

I’ve only seen one data point with details on the complimentary cruise and it comes from the MilesTalk Facebook group. A member of that group reports that a casino host told them that the cruise needs to be booked before Wynn Platinum status runs out at the end of January 2025 and sailed by June 30, 2025. The member reporting that detail emphasized that the casino host didn’t seem totally certain about the sail-by date, so I’d like to strongly caveat that I’m not positive about the sail-by date. I initially assumed that the sail-by date would be January 31, 2025 since that’s when status ends. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it turns out that June 30th is correct.

I intend to give this match a shot, but I know that whether it is worth the cost and trouble is very much a gamble in itself.

Bottom line

Wynn Rewards is offering a tier match through May 31st (though keep in mind that things like this could always get pulled early – I recommend flexible bookings). What makes this particularly notable is that Caesars Diamond members can match to Wynn Platinum and get some attractive benefits, including spa & dining credits and potentially a free cruise with Holland America. Note that the free cruise requires two non-consecutive nights spent at Wynn and it may not be as easy to find availability and book as we’ve seen through other match programs. Still, if the free cruise works well, it could turn out to be an excellent deal.

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