Las Vegas with Caesars Diamond

Las Vegas is an exciting destination, but with that comes the feeling of getting “nickel and dimed”. Unfortunately cheap trips to Vegas are hard to come by, but I’ve found a way to help you beat it. Note: if you’re on the East Coast this plan also works for Atlantic City.

Caesars resorts encompasses locations in Atlantic City, New Oreans, The Bahamas, Dubai, Las Vegas, etc. They offer a players club/loyalty program called Caesars Rewards (formerly Total Rewards), and this is where the benefits come in. Depending on the tier status you are- from Gold up to Seven Stars you get comped stays, free show tickets, dinner, VIP lines and check-in, etc. To earn Diamond Status (which is where most of the benefits start), you would need to ear 15,00) tier credits through purchases at their properties, casino play or using their credit card. One thing to note is that if you have Caesars Diamond you can get a “free” stay at Atlantis by paying only the taxes/fees. There is also a similar deal for Dubai. (See this link to learn more: https://www.caesars.com/myrewards/benefits-overview )

For me, Las Vegas is the closest destination so that’s what we went with. In order to status match (since not all of us are card sharks and gamble enough) you need to have status with another hotel chain or competitor. The main ones we will focus on are Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and MGM’s Mlife. Most of these loyalty programs make obtaining a decent status easy by having a co-branded credit card. Hilton is the easiest as two of their credit cards give you automatic Gold or Diamond Status- this is what I used. Hyatt does the same but the process is a little longer. Marriott requires you to have a certain number of stays and makes you work for the right status to make this match beneficial for you.

Hilton and Marriott gold or higher can be matched to Wyndham for Diamond Status which in turn is then matched to Caesar’s for Diamond. Easy right? Wyndham will say you have 90 days to complete their challenge in order to keep the status, but it’s not worth it and you don’t need it. Just make sure to status match before those 90 days is up.

Hyatt and MGM have an arrangement that allows you to status match between the two. If you have Hyatt Explorist or Globalist you can match to Mlife Gold which they will “often” give you Caesars Diamond when matched through their loyalty program. I say often because some of the data points out there say they will not so approach this route with a plan B.

BONUS: You can get Mlife, Caesars and Hyatt status by following this all the way through. The easiest way to start is by having a co- branded card such as Hilton, match to Wyndham, match to Caesars, match to Mlife in Atlantic City or the MGM in Las Vegas (they are the only ones that will match you currently in Vegas. Make sure you don’t create an Mlife account until you reach the desk). Once you have your new Mlife Gold card go ahead and match it to Hyatt Explorist. Now enjoy all those awesome perks and be sure to let me know what you do with it.