M life Rewards Program (MGM)
M life Rewards, popularly referred to as M life, is MGM Resorts International’ loyalty program christened players club. For one, membership is free to anyone older than 21 years old and the program is the greatest way to get rewarded while doing what you love best — from enjoying the luxe hotel services and outstanding entertainment events to the varieties of spa services, dining, and gaming. To reiterate, you can earn rewards for virtually every dollar you spend.
The program has a website which enables guests to easily search and choose their favorite amenities within MGM Resorts International‘s portfolio of brands and allows guests to combine them into one trip or itinerary.
They feature more than 70 exclusive M life Moments. These are unique members-only experiences available exclusively with M life Rewards: a stalwart MVP (Military & Veterans Program) which started in July 2017, individualized offers, special discounts, and access to partners throughout the planet.
About MGM Resorts International and M life Rewards
In partnership with some of the biggest brands worldwide, M life Rewards is one of the most competitive casino reward programs today. These brands are Celebrity Cruises, Pinnacle Entertainment, Royal Caribbean International, Cirque du Soliel, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, The Quintess Collection, Cashman Photo, Reflection Bay Golf Club, Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Avis Car Rental, and Southwest Airlines.
MGM Grand Hotel, The Mirage, Aria Resort and Casino, New York-New York Resort and Casino, Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino, and Bellagio Hotel and Casino are some of the company’s well-known destinations in Las Vegas while Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, MGM Grand Detroit, MGM National Harbor, Gold Strike Casino Resort, and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa are spread across the United States. Interestingly, the company has commercial establishments located China as well: MGM Macau and MGM Cotai.
Just like most reward programs, M life Rewards is a premium loyalty program that is available to every single guest with the capability of changing everyday travelers into VIPs. Interested members are entitled to benefits for potentially every dollar spent at 19 world-renowned destinations as you earn points when you play.
M life Rewards Tiers
Like every other reward program, the M life Rewards program has a number of levels and each level provides a different strange of advantages to the players. However, the official M life Rewards website is relatively bewildering and does not provide a full guide on how to earn points, tier credits, and progress levels. This makes the reward program difficult to understand and utilize.
Meanwhile, tier credits are not only the engine that drives M life Rewards; they are the propellers capable of transforming your experience with M life Rewards. Each tier credit you earn gets you closer to the next tier of membership…and you can earn them by wagering on the many table games, slot machines, and video poker games available, and for the money, you spend on entertainment, spa, hotel, and dining.
Ultimately, there are two ways to advance membership level. For one, guests can gamble and lavish a lot of money on MGM Resorts International’s services. Also, you can earn a complimentary Pearl; this is the second tier status and earned by holding an eligible credit card (such as the Hyatt Credit Card, which grants cardholders the World of Hyatt’s ‘Discoverist’ status that matches M life’s ‘Pearl’ status, and the M life Rewards MasterCard).
Further, the following are the five different tiers of the M life Rewards program:
Sapphire: This is what welcomes you to the world of M life Rewards as the Tier Credits can be as low as 0 and as high as 24,999. Sapphire provides a number of personalized offers on the official website; exclusive M life Rewards discounts on pre-sales, accommodations, and exclusive content; and shopping discounts at eligible retail shops. You can redeem your Points and Express Comps at any destination at all.
Pearl: To enter this tier, your Tier Credits must reach 25,000. In addition to what Sapphire has to offer, you will enjoy a 10 percent bonus and lengthened expiration date on Points and Express Comps; free guest pass and appreciative self-parking at destinations located in Las Vegas; discounts on concerts and entertainment shows; and an exclusive line at included buffets. As stated earlier, you can also be complemented with this tier.
Gold: Eligibility for the Gold membership is a minimum of 75,000 Tier Credits. On top of everything Pearl members enjoy, you are decorated with a 20 percent bonus on Points and Express Comps; exclusive VIP line access to designated Las Vegas day-clubs and nightclubs for you and one guest; and pre-eminent hotel enrolment line at the forefront desk.
Platinum: Things get more serious here; your Tier Credits must be 200,000 or more to be a Platinum member. In addition to Gold perks, you enjoy a 15 percent discount on all retail buys; a 30 percent bonus on Points and Express Comps; exclusive, luxe, and compelling experience at any Las Vegas destination; and provision of a high-status taxi and valet de chambre services.
Noir: If you were impressed by the Platinum tier, then you have never heard about Noir. This is the highest level a member can get but, unfortunately, it is an invite-only. The members are highly valued and enjoy the best perks: 40 percent bonus on Points and Express Comps; gratuitous limousine complemented with a chauffeur to drive you to and from the nearest airport to the establishment and throughout your hotel visit; table reservations at world-class restaurants; and room reservations at hotels.
Earning M life Reward Credits
Now, it is time to earn like a leprechaun. And to do so, players need to play table games and slot machines, and/or spend a qualifying amount of money on the company’s services. Whichever way to the pot of gold, players earn points that can be exchanged for rewards. These rewards include exclusive experiences, retail games, and intricate meals — all depending on the player’s level.
Keep in mind that M life Rewards basically provides two ways of rewarding customers. First, you can be rewarded Tier Credits which will help you achieve different levels. Second, you can be rewarded Base Points which are exclusively for playing in any of the participating casinos. From offers to FREEPLAY and Express Comps, the Tier Credits and Base Points determine your rewards.
Express Comps™
You are advised to play video poker games and slot machines to earn Express Comps — officially dubbed “the fastest way to comp yourself”. In addition, you can earn Express Comps for your average bet and time used to play table games at destinations nationwide—excluding those in Las Vegas. Interestingly, you can redeem Express Comps for exclusive M life Moments, hotel accommodations, shows, events, spa, and other services at any participating destination. These are also accumulated based on your gambling wagers and can be utilized to cut charges on your final bill of show tickets, foods, beverages, retail items, and many more.
FREEPLAY®
This basically lets you play your favorite slot machines for a designated number of spins. There is a number of ways to earn FREEPLAY: participating casinos can give out promotions and offers, and Base Points can be redeemed to FREEPLAY (for 1,000 Base Points, you will receive $10 in FREEPLAY).
POINTPlay®
By wagering on your favorite video poker games and slot machines, you can earn Points redeemable to FREEPLAY for slots (you have to select POINTPlay on the slot machine) and convertible to Express Comps.
Holiday Gift Shoppe Points
Holiday Gift Shoppe Points await each M life Rewards member as a perk to enjoy your year-end holidays. To earn this, you need to accumulate Base Points at participating destinations in Las Vegas (1 Base Point = 1 Holiday Gift Shoppe Point). These Gift Points can be redeemed at MGM Resorts International’s shopping event at the end of the year with a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, gift cards, home goods, and many more for sale. You can even redeem Holiday Gift Shoppe Points for FREEPLAY.
Gambling
Gambling is probably the forefront method to earn Tier Credits. The special point called Express Comps are earned and accumulated by wagering on any of the many varieties of games available. Players earn 10 Tier Credits per Point (also called Base Point); 1 Point equals $3 coin-in (total dollar spent) on slot machines or $10 on specialty and video poker games.
For table games, M life Rewards does not publish the formula on the site but it is rumored you will receive about 300 Base Points for every $25 wager on Blackjack and Roulette. And for each Base Point, you receive in the casino, you will also receive $0.01 in FREEPLAY and Express Comps individually.
Apart from Base Points, players can also earn Tier Credits via Base Credits. These are calculated by the meantime and wager on table games. An alternative way to earn Base Credits is to accumulate Base Points; they are further subjected to a multiplier, thereby used to pinpoint respective rewards.
Using M life Rewards MasterCard
By using the M life Rewards MasterCard to make purchases, players earn Points — which can be converted to either Express Comps or FREEPLAY for use on compatible services at the desk in Las Vegas. Each Point is worth ¢1 of Express Comps or FREEPLAY.
Hotel, Spa, Dining, and Entertainment
In general, players are awarded Tier Credits according to what they spend on MGM services like hotel accommodations, but the Tier Credits are often inconvertible to anything as you can have Tier Credits with no Express Comps if you have hotel charges without any gambling. And of course, you can receive Points when you spend on any service at any MGM-owned property; these services include hotel rooms, dining, entertainment, and spa…and each dollar spent awards 25 Tier Credits.
However, do keep in mind that these services and events must be carried out at participating resorts, hotels, restaurants, event centers, concert halls, arenas, and spas. Furthermore, there are Tier Multipliers which are based on your tier. Each tier’s Tier Multiplier has been indicated in the section above.
Sample Computation of How to Earn Credits
Let’s say you visit MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas and while staying at the hotel, you pull $6,000 off your wallet on the accommodation, foods, and beverages, and $2,000 on two concerts. You then pay the casino a visit and wager a sum of $30,000 on varying slot machines, $4,000 on video poker (say Texas Hold’em Poker), and play an hour of Blackjack with $25 per hand.
For Slot Machines
1 Base Point per $3
$30,000 / 3 = 10,000 Base Points
1 Base Point per 10 Tier Credits
10,000 x 10 = 100,000 Tier Credits
For Video Poker
1 Base Point per $10
4,000 / 10 = 400 base points
1 Base Point per 10 Tier Credits
400 x 10 = 4,000 Tier Credits
For Blackjack
300 Base Points per hour at $25 per hand
1 Base Point per 10 Tier Credits
300 x 10 = 3,000 Tier Credits
For Hotel, Dining
25 Tier Credits per $1
6,000 x 25 = 150,000 Tier Credits
For Entertainment
25 Tier Credits per $1
2,000 x 25 = 50,000 Tier Credits
In the scenario above, the sum of all Tier Credits is 307,000. According to this, M life Rewards will instantly welcome you to the Platinum membership and might invite you to become a Noir member.
Tracking M life Rewards Tier Credits
The M life Rewards program allows customers to keep track of their Credits/Points via the login webpage. The webpage is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and displays your account/card details in entirety. And it is a very beneficial idea to take a picture of the page that shows your Tier Credits, Points, Express Comp™, FREEPLAY®, the Task Info, and other useful details before a trip, and then about a week into the trip. There are also electronic player reward kiosks situated at the casinos which players could use to check their Tier Credits and other details.
Now, let’s look at this scenario:
A particular player stayed at MGM National Harbor in Washington, D.C., and did $7,500 coin-in on slots and his hotel bill was $400. The Tier Credit would be calculated as follows:
Tier Credit = (($7,500 / 3)) x 10) + ($400 x 25)
According to the calculation, you will receive 25,000 Tier Credits from gaming and 10,000 Tier Credits from your hotel expense; that is a total of 35,000 Tier Credits.
Moreover, you do not receive bonus Points or Tier Credits when you are at a certain tier level. Instead, bonuses lock in on Express Comps and PointPlay (free slot play).
Tier Credits
For non-specialty slots, $3 coin-in = 10 Tier Credits
For video poker, $10 coin-in = 10 Tier Credits
$1 spent on hotel services = 25 Tier Credits
Express Comps and PointPlay
Sapphire: For non-specialty slots, $3 coin-in = $0.01 Express Comps and $0.01 PointPlay; for Video Poker, $10 coin-in = $0.01 Express Comps and $0.01 PointPlay.
Pearl: For non-specialty slots, $3 coin-in = $0.011 Express Comps and $0.011 PointPlay; for Video Poker, $10 coin-in = $0.011 Express Comps and $0.011 PointPlay.
Gold: For non-specialty slots, $3 coin-in = $0.012 Express Comps and $0.012 PointPlay; for Video Poker, $10 coin-in = $0.012 Express Comps and $0.012 PointPlay.
Platinum: For non-specialty slots, $3 coin-in = $0.013 Express Comps and $0.013 PointPlay; for Video Poker, $10 coin-in = $0.013 Express Comps and $0.013 PointPlay.
Noir: For non-specialty slots, $3 coin-in = $0.014 Express Comps and $0.014 PointPlay; for Video Poker, $10 coin-in = $0.014 Express Comps and $0.014 PointPlay.
To expatiate, if you are a Gold member and run $800 through a video poker game, you will be rewarded with 800 Tier Credits and 80 Points in M life Rewards’ underlying base point system. Therefore, you will receive 80 x $0.012 in Express Comps ($0.96) and 80 x $0.012 ($0.96) in PointPlay. The same $800 on a non-specialty slot would get you 266 Tier Credits and 266 Points. Similarly, you will receive 266 x $0.012 ($3.19) in Express Comps and PointPlay individually.
To redeem Points, they can be redeemed the same way you earn them; alternatively, you can bank them for future use (though points as Express Comps expires after six months of inactivity for Sapphire members and after twelve months of inactivity for Pearl, Gold, Platinum and Noir members).
You can also redeem your Points for slot dollars right at the slot machine, and your Express Comps at any M life Rewards desk in the United States.
Lastly, shopping discounts at peculiar logo stores, gift shops, home shops, and other shopping outlets await eligible M life Rewards members. These outlets are situated at the many MGM Resorts International destinations nationwide, so do not expect M life Rewards to snag you a discount on a $3,000 handbag at a Prada store in Las Vegas — but it will surely knock some money off souvenirs, snacks, beverages, magazines, and other items available at a typical gift shop.
Verdict
In conclusion, the M life Rewards program has proven to have exclusive membership perks by offering members a number of astounding rewards while enjoying world-class gaming options and amenities at MGM Resorts International’s destinations. With Tier Credits for virtually every penny you spend, M life Rewards is one of the greatest ways to get rewarded for doing what you love best while elevating and enhancing your experience.