Category: cruises

MGM Pearl Status for life for watching a 30 minute video

One of the lesser known paths to MGM status is via status match with Celebrity Cruises. Classic members (2-149 Club Points) get matched to MGM Pearl. You get points by sailing with Celebrity Cruises, typically 1 Club Point per night sailed. And unlike most loyalty programs, cruise loyalty programs count the number of nights during your lifetime, which means your status is permanent.

In addition to getting Club Points for sailing, you can get Club Points outside of the cruise. By signing up for the the Captain’s Club (free to join), you get invited to surveys or webinars to earn Power Up Points. Each 10 Power Up Points convert to 1 Club Point. Since Classic status only requires 2 Club Points, just one activity is enough to get you Classic status for life. Unfortunately, they only send these offers out once or twice a year.

For example, on 9/18/24, a webinar link was sent out that is worth 30 Power Up Points = 3 Club Points, or enough for Classic status for life. The webinar link seemed to be unique but is good for up to 5 viewers.

So the play here is:

  1. Sign up for Celebrity Cruises Captain’s Club.
  2. Wait until they send out a survey or webinar OR ask someone who received a link to add you as a viewer. Each link seems to be valid for up to 5 people.
  3. Get 30 Power Up Points, which are automatically converted to 3 Club Points, netting you Classic Status
  4. Match Classic Status to MGM Pearl (should work for a lifetime, as long as the match stays in place)

Of course, you can also get Pearl status for signing up for the MGM Rewards Mastercard (no annual fee). The credit card also gives you priority line access, which Pearl status doesn’t on it’s own.

myVegas: Prizes and 1099-misc

Last year, I won a myVegas sweepstakes for a 2 nights stay at NYNY with $100 in freeplay and $200 in resort credit. I had to submit a W9 form with playstudios because the winnings are considered as income. I expected to be taxed but I was definitely surprised at how much they valued the prize.

I received my 1099-misc for the winnings and the prize was valued at $1000. They seemed to just pick a random number for the value of the prize, without considering the actual value. At a 30% state + federal tax rate, I would owe an addition $300. The actual value of the prize, based on publicly available rates on the same day, was:

  • 2 weekday nights at NYNY: No resort fees. Had to go on weekdays due to schedule. Actual value: $220
  • $100 freeplay: Actual value: $100
  • $200 resort credit: Actual value: $120

The resort credit value is based on the premium they add for their room rates with a food and beverage credit. Typically, for $100 daily credit you only pay $50-$60 per night. So the actual value of the stay was only about $450, yet I had to pay $300 in taxes for it.

What’s even worse is that the REAL value for me is significantly lower. If I had to book this trip, I would have paid:

  • 2 weekdays nights at NYNY: free through myVegas, no resort fee through MGM Gold. Price: $0
  • $100 freeplay: Price: $100
  • $200 resort credit Price: $120

If I booked the trip myself, I would have only spent $220! Yet by winning the prize I would pay $300 in taxes.

Conclusion

The lesson here is 1) if you win a prize, ask about taxes 2) book weekend rates to maximize value 3) consider decline the prize if the taxes is more than you would pay for the trip.

In the above picture, if someone won the NCL cruise, they would owe taxes on $1800, in addition to the gratuities and port fees. They could have gotten the cruise for free and saved $540 if they purchased the NCL reward directly loyalty

myVegas: Booking NCL Cruises

myVegas is currently offering an reward for $1000 off cruises. Two people can buy a certificate each and get $2000 off their cruise fare. Or a single certificate can take $1000 off. You can stack this with CruiseFirst on cruises 7 days or longer, the free at sea offers, Amex offers, and some personalized cruise offers.

They don’t pull any tricks with the base price of the fare. The price is the same price that you can quote on their website. It is also valid on any type of stateroom.

Sample Itinerary

Sample itinerary found directly on their website. The $1000 per person discount applies off just the Stateroom portion of the fare (in this case, $1998), so your total fare would be $512.64. Not included are gratuities at $20 per person per day.

The $1000 off per person only covers the cost of the stateroom and does not cover taxes, gratuities, or excursions. The total out of pocket cost, not including airfare to the port, would be $512 + gratuities ($20/day per person) for a total of $952.

You can also stack this with a Cruisefirst certificate ($250 for $500 credit), making it $702 for two people. This also stacks with amex offers if it is available at the time.

This also stacks with some personal offers that may be on your NCL account. For example, a 25% discount due to changed itinerary would be stacklable but the dollar off from the myVegas applies first and you get a discount on the remaining fare.

How to purchase the reward

The $1000 off reward currently costs 300,000 loyalty points on myVegas. If you’re starting off today, it is possible to get this number of loyalty points in as few as 4 days, depending on how much time you want to invest in the apps.

If the reward is sold out, there is a good chance it will be available at the standard reset time.