MGM Resorts and Marriott International have announced a partnership that entails long-term licensing and the creation of MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy. The agreement will be in effect by October 2023, and will last for at least the next 20 years.
The announcement comes at the heels of Hyatt and MGM Resorts announcing the end of their partnership as of September 30, 2023.
Marriott and MGM Launch Long-Term Partnership
The agreement consists of multiple facets, signifying a deep, robust cooperation between MGM and Marriott. However, three aspects of the partnership are particularly interesting:
- Synergy between Marriott Bonvoy and MGM Rewards
- The creation of MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy
- Flagging of four properties under Marriott’s “soft brands”
According to the news release, Marriott Bonvoy and MGM Rewards members will be able to link their accounts to both loyalty programs, which signals that status matching will be available.
MGM Rewards members will then get to access benefits at Marriott properties, while Marriott Bonvoy members, in turn, will be eligible to earn points and redeem for nights at MGM properties.
At a press conference, executives for both companies said that the full details of the Marriott Bonvoy-MGM Rewards synergy will come in the fall of 2023. Likewise, members will receive extensive communication in the coming months.
Meanwhile, an equally exciting development is that 17 MGM properties in Las Vegas and the rest of the US are joining the Marriott umbrella. Under the agreement, the properties will be available for reservations through Marriott sales channels, aside from MGM’s own sales channels.
Four of the 17 will be flagged under Marriott’s “soft brands”:
- Bellagio Resort & Casino (The Luxury Collection)
- ARIA Resort & Casino (Autograph Collection)
- Park MGM (Tribute Portfolio)
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (to continue as Autograph Collection)
On the other hand, 13 properties will be operated under the encompassing MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy brand:
- Vdara Hotel & Spa
- MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
- NoMad Las Vegas
- The Signature at MGM Grand
- Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
- New York-New York Hotel & Casino
- Luxor Hotel and Casino
- Excalibur Hotel & Casino
- Borgata (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
- Beau Rivage (Biloxi, Mississippi)
- MGM Grand Detroit (Michigan)
- MGM National Harbor (Maryland)
- MGM Springfield (Massachusetts)
Note that Mandalay Bay, Delano, and understandably, the Four Seasons Las Vegas, are not part of the agreement.
What’s In Store for Marriott Bonvoy Members?
For now, details on the synergy between Marriott Bonvoy and MGM Rewards programs are still scarce. However, we can already make educated guesses based on the previous Hyatt-MGM partnership, and the current arrangements in place at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as an Autograph Collection property.
At the minimum, MGM Rewards members will then receive benefits at Marriott properties, while Bonvoy members will be able to earn and redeem points at MGM properties that have been inducted into the Marriott umbrella.
However, since the 17 MGM properties are to be flagged under Marriott’s “soft brands” or under MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy, we can expect Bonvoy members to earn elite nights on qualifying stays. Recall that this was the case for World of Hyatt members, who earned elite qualifying nights at participating MGM properties.
If this happens, an inexpensive pathway to higher Bonvoy elite status would open up. After all, rooms at MGM properties in Las Vegas on weekdays can be very inexpensive.
For instance, a night at the Excalibur can be as low as $35 USD (plus $35 in resort fees) on weekdays.
As for benefits at MGM properties, we could already predict what’s to come based on benefits Bonvoy members currently receive at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and the benefits World of Hyatt elite members receive at other MGM properties.
Despite being an Autograph Collection property, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has a modified participation in the Marriott Bonvoy program. As a matter of fact, you’ll see that the property is explicitly mentioned in the program’s terms and conditions a number of times.
For one, despite technically being a resort property, the Cosmopolitan doesn’t provide breakfast as a Welcome Gift option. Rather, Platinum members and above may choose between 1,000 points or a $10 food and beverage credit.
Platinum members and above also aren’t guaranteed a 4pm late checkout, as they would in other properties. Instead, they may be given a 2pm late checkout, subject to availability.
Lastly, upgrades are limited to one tier for Gold members and above. This means that if you book a base City Room, the only upgrade you may receive under the rules would be a City Studio, which is one tier above.
We might expect similar rules to be in effect for the three other MGM properties to be signed under Marriott’s “soft brands”, namely Bellagio Resort & Casino (The Luxury Collection), ARIA Resort & Casino (Autograph Collection), and Park MGM (Tribute Portfolio).
As for the other 13 properties under the MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy brand, we can expect benefits to be tied to MGM Rewards rather than Marriott Bonvoy. This means that in order to receive benefits at participating MGM properties, you may have to status match your Bonvoy elite status to MGM Rewards, as World of Hyatt members did.
As a reminder, World of Hyatt members were able to status match as follows:
- World of Hyatt Member = MGM Rewards Sapphire
- World of Hyatt Discoverist = MGM Rewards Pearl
- World of Hyatt Explorist = MGM Rewards Gold
- World of Hyatt Globalist = MGM Rewards Gold
Thus, we can expect Bonvoy members to status match as follows:
- Marriott Bonvoy Member = MGM Rewards Sapphire
- Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite = MGM Rewards Pearl
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite = MGM Rewards Pearl
- Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite = MGM Rewards Gold
- Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite = MGM Rewards Gold
- Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite = MGM Rewards Gold
While MGM Rewards Platinum and Noir exist, they weren’t available for status matching with World of Hyatt. Therefore, we can’t expect these high-roller tiers to be available to Bonvoy members either.
Nonetheless, MGM Rewards Pearl and Gold already have tangible benefits. For one, MGM Rewards Gold members get their resort fees waived – in itself a minimum of $35 in savings per night.
Conclusion
Marriott International and MGM Resorts have signed a long-term partnership that entails licensing and the creation of MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy. The agreement will take effect October 2023, and will last at least 20 years.
As for what the partnership would mean for Marriott Bonvoy and MGM Rewards members, details are still scarce at the moment. However, at the minimum, it’s said that MGM Rewards members will receive Bonvoy benefits at Marriott properties, while Bonvoy members will be able to earn and redeem points at the 17 MGM properties.
For the rest of the details, we can make educated guesses based on the previous Hyatt-MGM partnership, and the current arrangements in place at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as an Autograph Collection property.
As for MGM Collection With Marriott Bonvoy properties, it’s likely that Bonvoy members would need to status match to MGM Rewards to access benefits, as was the case under the Hyatt-MGM partnership.
