This past weekend, I saved nearly $1,000 off a four-night stay at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas thanks to my loyalty status with Royal Caribbean. Here is how I did it.
Royal Caribbean and MGM offer a unique partnership that includes status matching and perks when you stay at one of their resorts or take a cruise on one of Royal Caribbean’s 28 cruise ships.
I currently have Diamond status with Royal Caribbean and wanted to see if this partnership was a gimmick or if it actually saves you money.
Being Emerald or above with Royal Caribbean gives you Gold status with MGM. The best part of Gold status with MGM is no resort fees, or as I like to call them, complete scam fees.
Here is a breakdown of what status you receive with MGM Rewards for the different tiers on Royal Caribbean.
The chart showing what your Royal Caribbean status will give you at MGM Rewards.
Status Match
Status matching was easy, I called 1-866-761-7111 and it took around 5-7 minutes for MGM to match my Royal Caribbean status and I was instantly Gold with MGM.
Since my 50th birthday was coming up, I wanted to put the status matching to the test. I booked a 1,070 sq. ft. Terrace Suite Fountain View at the Cosmo. These rooms offer incredible balcony views of the Las Vegas strip and the Bellagio Fountains.
The view from our balcony at night of the Las Vegas Strip.
Because I had Gold status, my suite was discounted by $733.50 and the $249.44 resort fee was waved when I checked-in at the hotel. Below is a breakdown of the cost of my suite showing the discount when I first booked it.
Without the status match from Royal Caribbean, the four-night total would have come to $1,999.40 (with all taxes, resort fees etc.).
Thanks to the status match and being Gold with MGM Rewards, my total came to $1,016.46. This is a savings of $982.94, an almost 50% discount.
One thing worth noting is that because you received Gold status with MGM through status matching, you do not receive the $100 Tier Celebration Credit or the new Annual Cruise Benefit that MGM offers. These are new perks that were added earlier this year when the two companies expanded their partnership.
However, it is well worth it for the discounted room and especially for no resort fees which can really add up.
MGM currently has 18 hotels/resorts around the country in six different states. However, all but five are located in Las Vegas.
MGM/Marriott
You can even take the status match a step further by using your new MGM Rewards status over on Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott will match my MGM Gold and make me Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite.
This gives me bonus points on all hotel stays, free upgrades, late checkout, and exclusive member rates on over 9,000 hotels around the world. This is all thanks to my Royal Caribbean status.
Conclusion
If you are Emerald or above with Royal Caribbean, it is well worth status matching with MGM so you can also receive benefits at Marriott properties.
Appeared first on: Cruisefever.net
