Readers, I found a way to gain top elite hotel status with both Caesars and Wyndham, FOREVER, without ever paying for a stay. It’s related to different companies having different fiscal year-ends, so my financial analysis experience is paying off here. Anyway. The catch: You have to do some paperwork now, before the end of January, and then some more paperwork in February. That’s it!
Most readers know how much I appreciate top elite hotel status, due to all of the perks and extras that come with it. I even wrote a detailed post about how you can “status match” your way to elite status at a bunch of different hotel chains, to get yourself free dinners and free show tickets too! Well, this post is still about status matching, only it’s FOREVER instead of a short period of time. Let’s dive into why and how you can do this.
In This Article...
Background: Hotel Status Matches
A status match is when you take your elite status with one hotel chain and ask another chain to “match” it. Many hotel chains are happy to poach loyal travelers from other brands, so they give you a temporary taste of what elite hotel status would be like with their brand.
You typically get status for about 90 days. At the end of that 90-day period, if you’ve stayed at the “new” brand a certain number of nights, they’ll extend your status through the end of the year – or even the following year.
How does this happen? Well, in a nutshell, you submit proof of your existing status to a “new” brand via a form on a website or an email. It’s pretty easy; details and a how-to guide are here. Meanwhile, it’s basically this process:
Bottom line: You can use your existing top elite hotel status to gain status at other chains pretty easily. This status is usually only temporary. But during the month of January, there’s a way to get top-tier elite status at Wyndham and Caesars FOREVER. Read on.
Caesars and Wyndham: Top Elite Hotel Status, Program Recap
Wyndham and Caesars are separate companies that partner with each other. So if you have status in one of the two programs, you can get reciprocal status with the other program – even without ever staying there. A top Wyndham elite always has status with Caesars properties, even if that person rarely ever stays with Caesars, and vice versa.
What does Wyndham Diamond status get you? The full list of benefits is here. But in my opinion, the best benefits of Wyndham Diamond status include:
- Early Check-in
- Late Checkout
- Suite upgrades
- Welcome amenity at check-in
What does Caesars Diamond status get you? The full list of benefits is here. My favorite Caesars Diamond status include:
- $100 free dinner once a year at any of the restaurants on this list of Caesars properties
- 2 free show tickets in Vegas at Caesars properties, anything on this list
- No resort fees at Caesars properties (expensive in Vegas)!
I wrote a detailed post on my exact experience with these benefits here. Some of the benefits are definitely better than others, but I think it’s VERY worthwhile to complete 5 minutes worth of paperwork!
NOW: Top Caesars and Wyndham Status FOREVER
I used my Hilton Diamond status (thanks to my Amex Hilton Aspire card) to match to Wyndham Diamond, and then Wyndham Diamond to match to Caesars Diamond. After 90 days, I hadn’t stayed in Wyndham or Caesars properties for even a single night, so I figured it was all over for me.
Indeed, I dropped from Wyndham Diamond status down to Wyndham Blue status recently, which makes perfect sense.
HOWEVER, Wyndham is on a calendar year = fiscal year schedule (through Dec 31), whereas its partner Caesars is on a Feb 1 – Jan 31 fiscal year schedule. Who cares, right? Well, these two programs are partners, and they’re particularly generous about letting you keep your status through the end of each of their respective fiscal years.
This means your top elite hotel status will drop down with Wyndham on Dec 31, but not with Caesars until Jan 31. And even more importantly, you can use your Caesars status to re-match to Wyndham between Jan 1-31, and it’ll be good all year long!
Here’s how it works, if you lost your Wyndham status at year-end 2019. (Note – in the next section, I cover what to do if you never had Wyndham status):
What if I didn’t do any status matches with Wyndham/Caesars last year the way you did?
No problem at all! Start the process now in January. See the next section for details.
You started this status match with Hilton. What if I don’t have Hilton status right now?
That’s no problem, either. Use just about ANY hotel chain status. I used Hilton because I hold the Hilton Amex Aspire Card which gives me Hilton Diamond status. But, you should use the highest-level status you have with a chain because you want Wyndham/Caesars Diamond.
Reports are that Hilton Gold, which you can get from having either the Amex Platinum or many of the various Hilton Amex cards, will match to Wyndham Diamond status. IHG Platinum status also reportedly works, which you can get from “only” having the IHG Premier Card. In other words, you don’t have to spend a single night in a hotel chain to get top-tier status with Wyndham and Caesars.
Summary: What you need to do if you DIDN’T already have Wyndham/Caesars Status
These processes will be a bit different, depending on whether you’ve had status in the past. These are the steps you need to follow if you didn’t take advantage of the Wyndham/Caesars status partnership in 2019. (In the next section, I’ll cover what to do if you did.)
- Now – January 31: If you never had Wyndham Diamond status, get it here.
- Now – January 31: Once you have Wyndham Diamond status, go here and match it to Caesars Diamond status.
- February 1 – February 28: Your Caesars Diamond status may expire on Feb 1. So go back to Wyndham, where you now have Diamond status, and re-match Wyndham back to Caesars Diamond again using this link.
- Forever: Get your two free show tickets every month and your $100 annual celebration dinner in Vegas. Don’t forget that you’ll probably need to repeat this process all over again in January of next year. Might as well set up a calendar reminder now.
Summary: What you need to do if you already HAD Wyndham/Caesars status last year
These processes will be a bit different, depending on whether you’ve had status in the past. These are the steps you need to follow if you already took advantage of the Wyndham/Caesars status partnership in 2019. (In the previous section, I covered what to do now if you haven’t had this status before.)
- Now – January 31: Your Wyndham Diamond status will have expired on January 1. But your Caesars Diamond status is still good. So go sign into your Wyndham account, and match it with your Caesars account, here.
- February 1 – February 28: Your Caesars Diamond status will have expired on Feb 1. But your Wyndham status is good for almost another year! So go to the Caesars status match page and re-match Wyndham back to Caesars here.
- Forever: Get your two free show tickets every month and your $100 annual celebration dinner in Vegas. Don’t forget that you’ll probably need to repeat this process all over again in January of next year. Might as well set up a calendar reminder now.
Conclusion
I’m really amused by how some differences in fiscal year-end timing have enabled customers to obtain perpetual, top elite hotel status. Financial accounting for the win! I hope you’re able to benefit from this. As always, I encourage you to reach out to me via email, through comments on this site, or my Facebook page with any questions!
