MGM Rewards has just downgraded all tier members who didn’t fulfill the annual qualification criteria to their respective new levels as the new status period started on February 1, 2025.
On the positive side, MGM Rewards members who dropped to a low level can use their Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises tier membership to re-match to a higher MGM status (up to Gold) again.
MGM modified its rewards system and later changed the membership period to a calendar year (previously, it ended and reset in September of each year). The tiers are now revised in January/February of each year as MGM is cleaning ranks just like any other loyalty program.
Unfortunately for me, my 10+ year stint as MGM NOIR came to an end, even though now that The Mirage is gone it won’t matter as much anymore.
My status first dropped to Sapphire, which is the Base level:
MGM Rewards has a preferred partnership with Celebrity & Royal Caribbean Cruises (see here) that comes in very handy in this case.
Therefore, members of the Celebrity Cruises Captains Club and the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Club can also receive a status match with MGM, which is similar to what used to be available with Hyatt.
Remember that this cruise line status is a lifetime status so as long as this partnership remains, one is guaranteed MGM Rewards Status.
You should definitely sign up for the Celebrity Cruises Captains Club program even if you have no intention of ever taking a cruise. The reason is that with certain online activities such as webinars, it’s very easy and fast to get Classic status, which means you can match to MGM Pearl, enough for free parking and some small perks.
And remember – the status is lifetime so as long as this cooperation continues all you have do is call in or stop by a rewards desk once a year to refresh your status.
Conclusion
MGM Rewards has expired all status tiers that weren’t requalified during the last membership period as of yesterday (Feb 1st). The accounts dropped to the respective level they qualified for – if any – and members had to rematch from there if they held status with Hyatt or Celebrity/RCCL Cruises.
If you hold a casino tier with a different casino program, you can also take advantage of the tier match and visit a players club booth at any MGM property.
After calling in and matching up the Celebrity account, my MGM Rewards status immediately changed to GOLD which is rather handy for stays this year (waived resort fees, waived parking, preferred rates).
