Is the Hotel Status Match Dead? – UPDATED Sept 2020

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the best ways to enjoy luxury hotels is by getting elite status. There are several ways to achieve elite status: Stay a lot of nights in a chain, get a credit card such as the Amex Platinum, World of Hyatt, or Amex Hilton Aspire card, or through a status match. However, status matching has become much harder to do lately! In this article, I use my own experience to answer the question: Is the hotel status match dead?? I’ll also review the basics of status matching and (spoiler alert) show you some ways you can still get value out of status matching.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2020: Some hotel programs have changed their status match requirements, likely in response to COVID. Read on for more!

What is a status match, anyway?

A status match is when you take your elite status with one hotel chain and ask another chain to “match” it. Why would a hotel company do this? Well, because they’re always courting frequent travelers to try to get them to switch their loyalty from one brand to another. Having hotel elite status is so amazing — see how I’ve gotten huge suite upgrades and incredible free lounge access — that companies know consumers are reluctant to “give up” their status. That’s why hotels grant temporary status to a frequent traveler new to their brand – to try to get good customers to switch their loyalty, and hopefully become permanent elite travelers with the “new” brand.

Sometimes instead of a status match, hotel companies grant you a status challenge instead. You are “challenged” to stay a certain number of nights in a 90-day period. At the end of the “challenge” if you hit your goal, you attain elite status for a much longer period. Whether you’re doing a status match or a status challenge, having status from one chain often helps you quickly attain status on another hotel chain.

How do you complete a status match or status challenge?

The details differ from brand to brand. But there are several universal, general steps you’ll complete regardless of which brand. They’re easy, too! Steps are as follows:

1. Google “[Hotel chain/brand I want to match to], status match.” Follow the instructions, which will be some version of this:
2. Submit proof of your current status with a brand – say, Hilton – to the brand you want to match to – say, Wyndham. Usually, you submit a screenshot of your name, and the other brand’s loyalty number, status, and expiration date of status.
3. Wait for a response back from the brand (usually via email). Respond if they want any additional proof. In my experience, they just grant me status directly, with some requirements on how I can keep my newly-granted status. Read what your requirements are, and how long your status will last.
4. If desired, complete the requirements the new hotel brand gave you in the 90-day period. This will help you retain the status beyond the status matching period. However, even if you don’t keep your status after the status match, you can still get some good value out of the temporary 90-day period with status.

I’ll walk through my own hotel status matching experiences in this post.

(Not working during COVID) Status match for a Las Vegas trip: Hilton to Wyndham, then Wyndham to Caesars

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2020: WYNDHAM IS NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING STATUS MATCHES. This process should work at some point in the future, but it is NOT currently working. WHAT IS WORKING INSTEAD: SIGN UP FOR FREE CAESARS DIAMOND STATUS! Here’s how.

If you ever intend to go to Las Vegas, do this. Just begin the process about 3-4 weeks before you get there. You’ll get a $100 dinner and two free show tickets for about 20 minutes of paperwork. (Even if you don’t gamble, you should visit Vegas anyway – there’s so much to do! Check out my top recommended activities.) Follow these steps:

1. Take your Hilton status that you got from a credit card – the Hilton Amex Aspire is my favorite, but any of the Hilton Amex cards work – and match to Wyndham Rewards via this link.
2. Wyndham Rewards partners with Caesars, so once you get your Wyndham status, go here and receive your equivalent Caesars status via their partnership.
3. Arrive in Vegas and head to the Caesars Rewards desk to claim your Diamond card and your free show ticket vouchers.
4. Show up at any of the Caesars restaurants on this list and tell them you’re ready for your yearly $100 celebration dinner.

That’s basically it, but I ran into a few hiccups while I was in Las Vegas with these statuses recently, which I’ll talk about below. For a complete guide on how to do this with screenshots, check out this guest post I wrote on 10xTravel, a great site!

My $100 free dinner experience in Vegas with Caesars Diamond status

I had no trouble receiving my Wyndham and Caesars statuses from Hilton. When I arrived in Las Vegas, I was excited to use my $100 Caesars celebration dinner at the Bacchanal Buffet within Caesars Palace. I went to the Caesars Rewards Desk and got my Caesars Diamond card, which looks like this:

When I asked the Caesars Rewards desk what to do to use my $100 dinner, the agent said I should just tell my server at the restaurant. I also knew my Diamond status would get me skip-the-line buffet access.

However, when I got to the Caesars buffet area, I was shocked. Literally hundreds, and maybe even a thousand, people were standing in line.

I thought to myself, “My Diamond card must be awesome for skipping this line!” And then I realized….This IS the Diamond line.

You can’t really tell from this pic, but the regular line was even longer. It’s on the other side of the chandelier in the middle. I tried this on Thanksgiving weekend, which was a really busy Vegas weekend for some reason. However, it was around 4p, which I wouldn’t have thought was a busy buffet time.

There was no way my partner and I were waiting in this mess. We gave up and decided to try one of the other restaurants on the Caesars celebration dinner list. Rao’s Italian was around the corner from the Caesar’s buffet, so we decided to go there instead.

Rao’s was great! The food was well-executed, traditional Italian in an upscale, if a little old-fashioned, atmosphere.

We each got an appetizer, entree, and 1-2 drinks for a total (with tip) of about $130. We had no problem using our $100 celebration voucher, so the net total came to about $30.

Verdict: Hotel status matching isn’t dead in this case. It’s thriving! But beware the buffet lines! Your skip-the-line status still won’t necessarily stop you from spending 2 hours waiting in line.

My 2 free show ticket experience in Las Vegas

My new Caesars Diamond status also granted me two free show tickets each month at Caesars properties. This is the list of shows you can see. When I went to the front desk to get my Diamond card, I asked for my show tickets. “No problem,” said the desk agent, and gave me two vouchers that looked like this:

I said, “Thanks, but what do I do now?” She said I’d have to go to each Caesar’s property’s box office and show them the vouchers to get the actual tickets. However, she said, I should be prepared to stand in line. She already knew some of the shows were sold-out for the weekend, including Penn & Teller, which I had wanted to see.

One thing to note on this voucher is, it’s good for only 3 days or the end of the month, whichever arrives first. I arrived on November 28, so my tickets expired in just TWO days. I was leaving December 1 in the evening, so I couldn’t catch a matinee on December 1 without starting the process all over again.

Since Penn & Teller was sold out, and since I didn’t feel very keen to stand in more lines and try to see what WAS available, I gave up. There’s so much to do in downtown Las Vegas, we decided to spend more time there.

Verdict: Status matching for this benefit isn’t dead, but it’s not exactly thriving either. I know I could’ve gotten the two free show tickets eventually, so it’s on me for choosing not to. However, I do feel like there’s a lot of unnecessary red tape to actually USE this benefit. You must be physically present at the Caesars Reward Desk to get your physical vouchers, which you must then physically walk over to a box office line. If shows in the next 2-3 days are sold out, you’re out of luck, and you wasted some time too.

Status match to Hyatt Explorist: My experience, Attempt #1

Another thing you used to be able to do was take your Caesars Diamond status and match it to MLife Gold, which you could then match to Hyatt Explorist status.

THIS IS NOW DEAD. (UPDATE: As of September 2020, it’s alive again! See here for details on how to get a Hyatt status match.)

Many data points said you could do this at the MGM Grand property in Las Vegas, which is why I tested it out during my last trip. However, three different MGM agents told me that they don’t do any status matching anymore. This is consistent with others’ experiences; StatusMatcher shows several other people saying the same thing.

I took my Caesars Diamond card up to the MGM desk and politely asked if they would match me to a comparable status. A nice agent said, “No, Corporate stopped letting us do this a month or two ago.” He said he wasn’t sure why, but they’re simply not allowed anymore. I note that TPG wrote and then re-published articles about this recently and wonder if that has something to do with it, given his huge reader base. Maybe MGM got wind and shut down these status matches due to heavy publicity?

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2020: This is alive again!! See here for details. It is probably limited-time only!

Status match to Hyatt Explorist: My experience, Attempt #2

I decided I wouldn’t be deterred by Attempt #1. I’m in Las Vegas, I owe it to myself to try again. I followed the “Hang Up Call Again” trick and left the line to return later and ask another agent.

The second agent was equally courteous, but told me the exact same thing. I asked her if she would match other statuses besides Caesars to MLife. What about IHG Platinum? No. Wyndham? No. Hilton? No. Marriott Bonvoy? No.

She offered to check with a senior agent behind her to see if there was anything they could do, which was nice. The senior agent then offered, “Well I could match your Hyatt Discoverist status to MLife, since MGM partners with Hyatt.” (I have Hyatt Discoverist status due to my Hyatt Card.) Sure, I said, please do match my Hyatt Discoverist status over to MLife Pearl.

Note, I could’ve done this step myself using this link (scroll down and click Opt In) – but I decided to take them up on the offer because I was there anyway.

Verdict: This was completely dead, until it got revived in September 2020. This represented my experiences in late 2019, but your experience will probably be different if you try again now! From September through December 31, 2020, you will likely be able to get a Hyatt status match – here’s how.

Status match to get Radisson Gold: My experience

Radisson isn’t the most popular program in the U.S., but it has a luxury brand: The Park Plaza. And, there are several Park Plaza properties in Germany, where I’m headed for an upcoming trip. I have my eye on the Park Plaza Nuremberg, since it looks awesome, and my usual hotel chains don’t have anything very compelling there.

I decided to stay there, but first I tried to match my Hilton Diamond status to Radisson. I emailed statusmatch@radissonhotels.com with a copy of my Hilton card showing Diamond status and my Radisson Rewards number (that I had just created on the site). It took only about a day to get my status successfully matched.

I was a little disappointed that Radisson “only” matched my Hilton top-tier Diamond status over to Radisson Gold. But this is consistent with other reports on StatusMatcher. Also, Radisson Gold status should get me an upgrade and late checkout during my stay in Nuremberg.

Verdict: Alive and well. I was able to use my Radisson Gold status at the Park Plaza Nuremberg, where I didn’t receive a room upgrade but did receive a nice welcome gift.

Conclusion

I wouldn’t say it’s dead, but I will say it’s getting more difficult. The benefits you’ll receive are generally getting smaller, and there aren’t as many easy matches as before.

However, it’s still very easy to attempt these status matches. Literally Google “[Chain I want to match to], Status match program.” Then follow the instructions to submit your proof of status at a different chain. None of these matches have taken me more than a few business days to complete, and it never cost me more than about 5 minutes to submit information.

For that reason, and because there are still some solid benefits here, I still recommend trying to status match for hotels. Just keep these tips in mind:

1. Be careful about time frames. For example, most status matching programs last 90 days, and it takes a few days to qualify. So, if you have a trip planned and want to take advantage of a match, begin the matching process a couple weeks before you arrive at your destination. You want to give yourself enough time to qualify, but not TOO much time. If you receive status 6 months before your trip, it might not still be valid when you arrive!
2. Pay attention to the requirements of a status match. If you won’t be able to spend 10 nights at the new chain in 90 days, that’s fine, but just be aware of it. See #1.
3. Read the fine print of everything. Don’t hesitate to ask multiple employees if something isn’t working for you. As always, be polite!

What have YOUR experiences been with status matching?