A Credit Card for Vegas

Las Vegas is definitely a place to escape from the stress and ordeals of life. It is one of America’s entertainment capitals w/ tons of things to see, do, and indulge in. To no surprise then, the cost of a trip to Vegas can quickly add up…even if you don’t gamble!

To help you save some money and also perhaps some time on your next Vegas trip, I would like to present you with what I, in my limited knowledge, think is the best travel hacking credit card for Las Vegas (as of April 2022, the time of writing)…and it may surprise you.

It isn’t an MGM resort or Caesars resort hotel credit card, it is the Wyndham Business Earner Credit Card.

For any person who frequents Vegas even at least once a year, I think you will find value in this credit card.

Basic Card Information

The Wyndham Business Earner Credit Card is a business card issued by Barclays (same national bank as the Hawaiian Airline cc). Note that because it is a business card, one does need to put in his/her “business” information to get approved and does not (or at least, should not) count toward Chase’s 5/24 rule.

The standard sign-up bonus (sub) is 45,000 Wyndham points after a minimum spend requirement (msr) of $1000 within the first 90 days upon approval and the annual fee for the credit card is $95 (not waived the first year).

The earning structure for the card is as follows:

8x on fuel at gas stations and at Wyndham Properties.
5x on marketing, advertising, and utility costs.
1x on all other purchases.

Wyndham, Caesars, and MGM Status

wyndham, caesars, mgm logos — *Wyndham, Caesars, and MGM logos*

The reason I’d encourage frequent Vegas goers to get the credit card is because the Wyndham Business card gives you Diamond elite status w/ Wyndham. Now tbh, I don’t know how good the perks and benefits of this are if you stay at a Wyndham property (I have yet to stay at one since getting the card), but what I do know is that with it you can get elite status w/ the two casino loyalty programs, Caesars Rewards (Caesar’s Palace, Cromwell, Nobu, Bally’s, LINQ, etc) and MGM Rewards (Bellagio, Aria, MGM Grand, Park MGM/NoMad, etc).

The reason you can do this is because Wyndham and Caesars are partnered. Thus if you have elite status w/ Wyndham you can do a status match for an equal elite status w/ Caesars (as stated on their website) and vice versa.

You can then take this one step further and status-match the Caesars Rewards elite status w/ MGM Rewards elite status.

Now usually, elite status like with any loyalty program is designed for loyalists (aka frequenters and big spenders) toward their products (hotels, casinos, etc). With the Wyndham Business Earner card, you can get elite status w/ these three hotel programs, for just a yearly fee of $95. (Note that at the time of writing, 04/2022 this holds true. Subject to change in the future).

What Statuses Do You Get?

According to the terms and conditions on their websites, the elite status you can get w/ the Wyndham Business Earner card and then status matching is as follows:

Wyndham Diamond Status >> Caesars Rewards Diamond Status >> MGM Rewards Gold

Note you can and do get a not-as-good, lesser-tier status match if you have the Wyndham Earner or Wyndham Earner + credit card but would highly recommend against getting it if you don’t already have either. The benefits that come w/ either of these cards are not worth applying for either.

Why Status Match - The Benefits

Saving Money - Waived Resort Fees

Now you can read all the benefits of the various elite statuses on their websites. Amongst the many, the first I want to point out that will save you money is the benefit of waived resort fees.

As any person who has planned a trip to Vegas knows, most hotels on or around the strip (which is where you’d most likely stay) have a daily resort fee in addition to the base costs of each night. This resort fee is basically a charge for amenities like using the wifi and hotel gym, amongst others. It is a mandatory fee you have to pay regardless of whether or not you use the amenities it covers.

Most resort fees are somewhere between $30 and $50 depending on the level of luxury of the hotel. This is in addition to the base cost per night. And one must then not forget that state tax is then calculated AFTER the resort fees are added to the base price total.

With this fee, the costs of the hotel alone can quickly add up. A hotel advertised as $100/night might actually be more like $140ish when the resort fee PLUS tax is added.

Having Diamond status with Caesars Rewards and/or Gold status w/ MGM Rewards gives you the benefit of waiving this daily resort fee so you are only paying the base price per night plus tax on that. This can save you a good amount of money.

If you think about it one trip to Vegas where you stay at least three nights will make up the $95 annual fee for the card as this would equate to anywhere from $90-120 in resort fees alone (untaxed). Any more days after this and the card is saving you money. Money you can perhaps put toward food, gambling, or something else.

(Note that a single account can get the resort fees waived for a maximum of two rooms per stay)

Saving Money - Parking

If you decide to rent a car while in Vegas, the other benefit I want to highlight that will save you money is the free parking.

Many if not all the parking lots and garages on the Vegas strip charge people to park their cars whether valet or self-park. Cost is usually dependent on the number of hours your car is parked.

With Caesars Diamond and MGM Gold statuses, you can either self-park in any of their garages or opt for valet service for free even if you are not staying at any of their hotels.

Taking Advantage

Here are two quick examples of how elite status w/ MGM has helped save me time and money.

In November 2021 I went to Vegas for a friend’s bachelor party. We decided to stay off the strip because it was a busy, three-day weekend and we had found cheaper accommodations off the strip. Because we had a car and I had MGM Pearl Status we were able to freely drive on and off the strip and park at any of the MGM self-parking garages to then walk to wherever we needed to (since most of our activities were on the strip).

On my most recent trip to Vegas earlier this month, my sister’s friend had a guest that visited them at the Luxor and charged the parking to their room. Because the booking was under my name and I had MGM Diamond status, the charges were waived and did not appear on my bill.

As you can see, having the elite status opens up more options to help you save money. Of course, this was definitely not as convenient as staying on the strip, so you’d definitely have to weigh and make your own decisions, but having options from travel hacking is always nice.

Saving Time - Priority Lines

Another benefit I also want to quickly point out is the priority lines for those w/ elite status.

Caesars and MGM Rewards elite status members get priority line access to things like hotel check-in, restaurants, and nightclubs. Especially for hotel check-in and to popular restaurants/buffets (without reservations) this can and will save you a good amount of waiting time.

Plus, not going to lie, there is satisfaction in being recognized as an elite member and bypassing others.

How to Status Match

Wyndham to Caesars Rewards

Once you make a Wyndham account and confirm your Wyndham Diamond status, you can easily match it to your Caesars account online here. You just need to link and input your Wyndham account number.

Note the website says it’ll take up to two weeks for the status to reflect in your Caesars’ account, but for myself and many others, it took much longer. I’d recommend doing this at least a month and a half to two months in advance if you have a Vegas trip coming up. If you needed it more urgently you can always try messaging Caesars’ customer service, but there is no guarantee it’ll help. You most likely may and will just have to be patient.

Caesars to MGM

Once the Diamond elite status reflects in your Caesars account you can then go ahead and do a status match to MGM Gold.

In order to do this, you have to actually physically go to the customer service desk at an MGM resort (doesn’t need to be in Vegas) to do this status match. You just need to ask and then show them your Caesars Diamond status.

Note that at the time of writing and according to their terms and conditions for 2022 you need to do this before June 31st, 2022.
If you already have a reservation at an MGM resort, but do not yet have status, you can still get the resort fees waived by simply informing the MGM reward customer service or the hotel front desk after receiving your status.

How Long Does Status Last

Your elite statuses for both Caesars and MGM are only for the year in which you status match. If you status match for 2022, I believe your status last until the end of January 2023 for Caesars. For MGM it resets back to basic sapphire January 1st, 2023.

As far as your Wyndham status goes, you will have Diamond status so long as you keep the Wyndham Business Earner card open and so long as Barclays and Wyndham does not change this.

What this means then is that as long as Caesars keeps their partnership and status match w/ Wyndham, every year you keep the Wyndham Business Earner card open, you can also get Caesars Diamond. The same goes w/ Caesars status match to MGM.

Conclusion

The Wyndham Business Earner card is an underrated card for Las Vegas. To Hawaii locals who frequents “The Ninth Island,” I’d highly encourage or at least is considered applying for the card.

Right now it is a pretty sweet hack, that will and is bound to change sometime in the future as more and more people catch on. For now, though, you may as well take advantage of it as much as you can! And just so you know, this is no secret. Many, if not all of the popular travel blogs have written about this status match merry-go-round.

Anyway, thanks for reading, Lmk if you have any questions.