If you’re involved in the Status Match Merry Go Round, one of the biggest developments in the last year was the Tier Match program at Ocean Casino Resort that offered two free nights at Wynn in Las Vegas and a free cruise on MSC. (Read the Merry Go Round page for details on how that match works as you do need Hard Rock Rock Royalty to do it).
I discovered this last year at the end of August and I think it’s safe to say hundreds if not thousands of MilesTalkers did the match since then.
In the last few months I got many questions about timing. Since the program year ended June 2022, we had no idea if if would continue for the 2022-2023 program year. My status granted in September, for instance, expired yesterday. People wanted to know if they should match in June, for example, and I had no idea if the match would only be valid for a month or 13 months.
Happily, a reader already wrote in today and it’s good news. Reader Jake C. let me know that he matched yesterday and picked up his card today. His Prime card is good through next June 30th.
He also sent me all the collateral and it’s identical to last year. You can do the match if you are a new player at Ocean or if you have been inactive for 12 months.
So it’s important to note that if you matched November 15th, 2021, you both have to wait until November 16, 2022 and must not have played at Ocean the entire year. If you stopped in to gamble even once, you have to wait 12 months from that date.
Since I matched August 31st, I plan to go in early September or October to re-match. That will give me time to use the two free nights at Wynn Las Vegas in both 2022 and 2023. I’ll probably only take one cruise….
Here are all the flyers Jake collected for us:
As I mentioned, the collateral all looks identical to last year so if you did this last year, you should be able to do it again 366 days from your last visit to Ocean and the benefits will be the same.
Again, first re-read the Tier Match program at Ocean Casino Resort and then the details on getting Two Free Nights Wynn in Las Vegas and a free cruise on MSC.
You also get a free two night stay at Ocean with your match, valid Sunday – Friday, but you have to call to book and can’t use it until 72 hours after the upgrade.
(Tip: You can convert Capital One Miles into Wyndham Points which can then be transferred to Caesars Rewards)
Questions?
Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group. And don't forget to follow me on Instagram for all sorts of tips on miles, points, credit cards, and travel.
If this post helped you, please consider sharing it!
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
Ugh! I just did these matches in May 2022 so does this mean I can’t use the Wynn benefit that I earned at the time as a first time matcher?
Depends when your status expires. If you’re still Prime now, you’re fine. Not sure what the cutoff was.
yeah, I logged into my account last night and saw I was downgraded to lowest tier after only having my match for 6 weeks. Booo! They should have given me at least a year to enjoy my benefits. 🙁 I may try calling them to see if I can convince them to renew me.
Hey Dave,
Is it better if we don’t gamble at all at Ocean if we are Prime status already? My wife took adv of this match ~10 days ago but we actually are planning to go back in Sept to give them good play since it actually has the BEST bj rules apparently of any A/C casino….. but if we don’t earn and play up to legitimate Prime status, will we be automatically demoted next July, 2023? Just wondering if this gambling will affect our ability to get tier matched again and do the whole merry go round deal next year if we don’t play and earn to the level of prime!
Thanks in advance.
So the unfortunate rule is they won’t rematch active players. They define that as played in the last 365 days. So you either have to play up to Prime status and enjoy the benefits OR basically avoid Ocean for the next year.
If I’m you, I use the two night comp in September, have a blast, and then know your rematch next year won’t be until September.
Sorry if I missed it, but have you confirmed if you can use the 2 Wynn nights and the cruise in both calendar years (once in 2022 and once in 2023 before June 30)?
Because that might just make the trek to AC worth it from the West Coast.
Yes 🙂
Hi Dave! Any idea on whether or not the Encore/Wynn will have any issue letting me check in on P2’s 2-night stay without her being there yet? Thanks again for all of this info!
50/50. You never know. Obviously you can add your name to the reservation with a note you’ll be checking in first but you have to be prepared that they won’t allow the person that earned the comp to have someone else check in first….
Thank you!
Hi, Dave,
If I do the match in Jan 2023 and my status will be valid until Jan 31 2024, If I want to enjoy the complementary cruise for 2024, may I book cruise in Jan 2024 and sail in July 2024?
Thanks
Your status will be valid until June 2023, not 2024. You will get one cruise, Feb – June 2023.
Hey Dave! Thanks for all the info.
I was reading the Travel Benefits brochure and it says that “All travel benefits will be available to book beginning on the 15th of the following month once tier has been earned”… I am looking to do the status match on, say, July 28th 2023, which means I will be able to book the MSC Cruise and/or Wynn Las Vegas from August 15th onwards, is that correct? But I am looking at an MSC Cruise that departs on August 15th. Will I be able to book this cruise right after I match (July 28th 2023) or do I have to wait until August 15th to start booking? In this case, I imagine it will be very difficult to book a cruise for that same day.
I don’t know if my question is clear.
Thanks for any advice!
Peter F.
Question is clear, however what nobody knows is if Ocean will offer the tier match for a third year in a row. All we know now is it exists until June 30, 2023. It may or may not get another round for the program year that begins in July 2023.
Dave, do you know if this Wynn benefit can be combined with a stay already booked through a comp offer direct from Wynn?
Sure. They are unrelated.
If they do continue the program next year starting July 2023 and I rematch after not playing at Oceans for at least 365 days do I get another round of Wynn and cruise freebies although I already used my 2023 comp offer with my “old” Oceans account in January 2023? No is the answer right? It is once per calendar year no matter if I am a new member or rematched member? Hope my question makes sense.
The benefits are per calendar year, not the match. If you matched July 15, 2022, you can match again July 16, 2023 and book Wynn/Cruise starting Aug 15 for consumption by Dec 31.
IF the benefit is renewed
I am new at this and this is a dilemma. I have Caesars diamond and MGM gold and am going to visit family in NY later this month, so was going to make the trip to AC to do all these matches If I match this month (Feb), I only have until June 30 to use 2 nights at Ocean, 2 nights at Wynn and 7 night cruise? Or take a chance to not match until July and hope it is still a thing?
You will have to book by June 30th but can be for anytime this year following the 15th of the month after you match.
So I would be able to book Wynn in Nov and the cruise anytime this summer even though my status would end June 30?
Anecdotally, I re-matched last September and booked a room for March 2023 in November. They said I could consume one stay each calendar year and that booking date didn’t matter. I cannot speak to MSC on this as I have never booked it.
To your other question if you match today, Feb 5th, you can next rematch on Feb 6, 2024 so long as you have not gambled at Ocean or used any Ocean promotions (room, free play, etc) since the day you first match.
I looked up the benefits on their website and it states that all travel and rooms booked need to be completed by June 30, 2023.
The fine print in the brochure I got when I matched from Hard Rock Rock Royalty to Ocean Prime in April says that the cruise has to be booked by May 15th and taken by June 30th. That’s a problem for me given that I’m not even supposed to be able to call to book the cruise until at least May 15th. I called yesterday (May 9) and they said that they didn’t have a record of my having the offer yet. You’re certain that the deadline for booking is now June 30th, and that the cruise can be taken anytime through the end of December 2023? That would be great for me!
If you just got status now it will be renewed through next June and you’re fine. If you got the status before I think April 1st, then you would indeed have to book and use this half.
And if I match now, I won’t be able to rematch in July?
Thank you, but I am still a bit confused. I would match later this month, the status would expire June 30 and I would want to book Wynn for later this year in Nov and book the cruise later this year also before Dec 31. Will this work or should I just wait and go back to AC in July if the matching is still working? I would not be able to use all the benefits from the match between Mar and June.
Hi, im sorry if I missed reading something above, I currently have Caesars Diamond, trying to figure out a way to get MGM gold now with the new changes MGM no longer matching Caesars Diamond to MGM Gold. My home base is California. In order to status match My Caesars would I need to do the Hard Rock Royalty match in person, and also match Ocean Prime in person? can any of this be done online? Thank you
You’re not missing anything. Unless you already have Hyatt Explorist to match online, you’d have to fly to Atlantic City to do the matches using your Caesars Diamond at Hard Rock and that assumes they don’t change their match program.
You’re the man who untangles the fine print…
Q: What’s the rule to tier match to Caesar’s Diamond if it just expired from a previous Tier Match? Will they do it again or do I have to wait?
Q2: With the changes at Hard Rock AC, do they still tier match you to Rock Royalty or similar if you carry MGM Gold?
Ultimately, I hope to tier match to Prime at Oceans AC, in order to take advantage of the Wynn offer, (by the way, don’t book a room over the outdoor concert by the pool-no matter what floor your on, you’ll hear the music until 4AM) and the MSC offer-which we’ve enjoyed twice.
Thanks sir.
You only get one in person match (unless you get very lucky). But if you have the Wyndham Business Earner card, that Wyndham Diamond status can be matched to Caesars yearly.
Hard Rock AC hasn’t changed as far as we know – YET. It is probably coming….
Hi Dave,
Does the Ocean sign up and tier match have to be done in person at the casino? Also, I just matched my MGM Gold to Hard Rock Ikon in Vegas. Will the Hard Rock Ikon work for Oceans match or do I have to go to Hard Rock in AC and match there? I also have Caesars Diamond. Thanks for any advice.
Ocean all has to be done in person. They should take your HR Icon card no problem. If they didn’t you could match your Caesars to Hard Rock’s Rock Royalty and go back but I do think Icon is fine.
Hi Dave
Thanks for all the info! I flew to AC on 12/18/23 and got matched to ocean prime using my Canadian passport, but when I tried to sign up account online, I was asked for SSN, which I don’t have. Do you know whether MSC cruise requires US residences(matched holand cruise T&C does mention US rresidences, any of your readers has experience boarding the cruise to let me know what’s the check in procedure, do they check US drivers lisence to verify that I live in the US? I found a Feb cruise already, do i have to wait until Jan 15 to book? Do I have to create an account to book or simply by calling? Sorry for raising so many questions. thanks