Hyatt recently announced a joint partnership with MGM Resorts in Las Vegas. Beginning tomorrow on June 20, 2013, you can now earn stay and night credit with Hyatt at 12 unique participating MGM resorts properties. The participating hotels are Excalibur, Luxor, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Vdara, The Mirage, ARIA, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and THEHotel at Mandalay Bay.
Today, I got an e-mail from the Excalibur hotel with spectacular room rates.
Link: 20% refundable room rates starting at $21
Link: 25% non-refundable room rates starting at $20
Room rates start as low as $20.00 + taxes on a non-refundable rate. The bad thing is that there is a mandatory resort fee which is $15.00 + tax.
Here’s the complete breakdown of a 1 night’s stay at the Excalibur:
1 Tower Queen Room for 1 night – $20.00
Taxes – $2.40
Resort Fee + Tax – $16.80
Total – $39.20
Hyatt Diamond is achieved with 25 stays or 50 nights. The best way to acquire status with cheap rates is by stays. This means that you will need to temporarily relocate yourself in Las Vegas for 50 days since two consecutive nights would only mean 1 stay. 25 stays multiplied by $39.20 would be $980.00 total.
Here’s what you get out of it when you start out as a basic Hyatt Gold Passport member:
Five points per eligible dollar spent. Since the room rate is $20.00, you would earn 100 points per stay. Multiplied by 25, you would earn 2500 Gold Passport points.
When you hit Platinum after 5 eligible stays, you will earn a 15% point bonus. After the 5th stay, you will net an additional 300 points for a total of 2800 Gold Passport points after your 25th completed stay. Sure it’s not much, but every little bit helps.
With the current Excalibur room rate promo, you also get 1 free Jell-O Shot at Dick’s Last Resort which could be worth $1.00 each. 25 stays would be a $25.00 value.
You will also get free admission for two at LAX Nightclub at the nearby Luxor hotel. This isn’t worth much since you can get on their free guest-list.
Here’s a tip on how to avoid the dreaded resort fee and possibly save some money and earn Hyatt Diamond status for even less than $980.00.
I frequent Las Vegas a lot and the last thing I want to pay for are resort fees. Most of the time, you can complain that the internet was slow and/or not working during your stay and the front desk agent can waive the resort fee for you. I like to do it when checking out because you will have a genuine connection with the front desk agent. Most of the time in these big Las Vegas hotels, the internet is slow any way!
Conclusion
After you have completed this daunting task, you will have earned Hyatt Diamond Status which gives you a 30% point bonus on eligible spend, complimentary internet, four suite upgrades annually, and more. For a full list of Diamond benefits, click here.
Starting in August of this year, you can match Hyatt Diamond status with MGM Resort’s M Life’s Platinum Tier. For a complete benefits list, click here.
M Life Platinums get priority check-in, room upgrades, turndown service, priority access to pool cabanas and bungalows, buffet line pass, priority valet and taxi services, and special access to dayclubs/nightclubs for you and a guest.
Don’t forget to have the hotel add your Hyatt Gold Passport Number before arrival. Call it in or put it under the “Requests box” when you make your reservation online. Feeling lazy? Have them add your Gold Passport number when you check-in or during check-out. If worst comes to worst, you can always submit a request for credit after your completed stay.
Also, have the hotel add your M Life loyalty number to your hotel stay. Many people don’t know this, but you can double dip.
So is this worth it? This is the cheapest and most economical way to gain Hyatt Diamond status.
Are you in?