Caesars halts its status carousel with Wyndham, but there's still a way to keep status
Editor's Note
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Back in 2017, Wyndham Rewards and Caesars Entertainment launched a new partnership. This partnership brought status matches and points transfers between the two programs. Once you earned Diamond or Platinum status in either program, you were able to maintain the status indefinitely by matching your status back and forth each year.
For example, once you earned Wyndham or Caesars status, you'd match to the other program. Then, since Wyndham Rewards status resets at the end of each year, in January you'd match your Caesars status to Wyndham. Additionally, since Caesars status resets at the end of each January, you'd then use your recently matched Wyndham status to match back to Caesars in February.
However, this gravy train is coming to a halt. As a MilesTalk reader discovered, Caesars recently added the following language to its status match page:
Please Note: You must have earned Tier Status with your current loyalty program in order for your status to be matched. Caesars Rewards will not grant status to WR members who came into the WR program from a tier match promotion with other programs or who previously had recent Caesars Rewards status that was about to expire, and vice versa.
And in March, Caesars downgraded some members who used Wyndham status obtained via a match from Caesars to match back to Caesars earlier this year. Caesars sent some members the following email titled "We Upgraded You By Mistake!," while other members simply noticed a downgrade when logging into their Caesars account.
However, in April 2022, several downgraded members reported receiving emails noting that Caesars Rewards has reversed the downgrade for this year. So, if you were downgraded in March, check your account to see whether your Diamond status was reinstated. To be clear, though: Caesars is still standing firm in not allowing the status carousel with Wyndham for any new matches.
I reached out to Ceasars Rewards for clarification and received the following response from a spokesperson: "Any customer who earned Wyndham Rewards status at Wyndham, including status and Wyndham credit card, can tier match to Caesars Rewards. So essentially earn status at Caesars or Wyndham and the other will match your status."
I followed up with a few clarifying questions over the weekend but haven't received a response as of publishing. However, I assume the spokesperson meant to say "including stays and Wyndham credit card," as my question was whether Wyndham members who earn Wyndham status each year through stays or having a Wyndham credit card could match their status to Caesars each year.
Related: How I leveraged the Caesars and Wyndham partnership to extend expiring hotel points
Unfortunately, gone are the days of earning status once with Caesars or Wyndham and then matching back and forth indefinitely. However, based on the response from the Caesars spokesperson, you can still earn Wyndham status each year and then match with Caesars despite the "previously had recent Caesars Rewards status that was about to expire" language. This includes earning Wyndham status each year through a Wyndham Rewards credit card.
The following Wyndham Rewards cards provide Wyndham status that could be matched to Caesars:
- Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card: Wyndham Rewards Platinum status.
- Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card: Wyndham Rewards Diamond status.
The information for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card and Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
I'll likely add the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card to my wallet later this year or next to keep Wyndham Diamond status and the ability to match to Caesars status. Even though I don't stay with Wyndham frequently — and don't think Wyndham's elite perks provide much value — I'd certainly be able to justify the card's $95 annual fee with Caesars Diamond perks. After all, I get more than $95 of value each year from waived resort fees in Las Vegas and the annual Atlantis stay afforded to Caesars Diamond members.
Related: Citi ThankYou adds Wyndham Rewards as its second hotel transfer partner
It's worth noting that some Wyndham Diamond members have struggled to get their status matched to Caesars this year. Some matches eventually went through, while others are seemingly stuck. But, some Wyndham Diamond members who did get matched have reported that Caesars retracted their $100 celebration dinner. And now Caesars Rewards has downgraded (and then reinstated) some members after matching their status earlier this year.
Of course, Caesars' new policy to not allow Wyndham status obtained via a match from Caesars to match back to Caesars could be good motivation to switch to the World of Hyatt and MGM Rewards partnership. If you have World of Hyatt Explorist or Globalist status, you can match to MGM Rewards Gold status. And MGM Rewards Gold status provides many useful perks in Las Vegas, including waived resort fees when you book directly with MGM Resorts and free parking.
Related: Caesars Diamond and MGM Gold both waive resort fees now: Here's how they compare for non-gamers