Still can't get your Hyatt status to match to Mlife? Do this now.

Last month I shared my experience getting a Haytt Gold Passport Diamond tier match. I mentioned that I was unable to use Hyatt's online tool to match my Diamond status to Mlife Platinum.

My initial assumption was that my new Hyatt status hadn't yet populated to the database the two loyalty programs share. But a few weeks having passed, I was still unable to update my Mlife status online. It was time to act.

Hyatt doesn't handle Mlife status matches

My first move was to call 1-800-514-9288, since that's the number listed on the Mlife status match page. But that number turns out to be for Hyatt member services, and the representative I spoke with told me that there was nothing Hyatt could do.

But she did give me the number for Mlife member services: 1-866-761-7111.

Mlife can verify your Hyatt status in real time

It took me two tries to find the right representative to help me at Mlife. The correct automated phone selections are "5" (partnerships) followed by "1" (Hyatt Gold Passport partnership).

That immediately took me to a phone representative, who asked for my name, my Mlife account number, and my Hyatt Gold Passport account number. She then placed me on hold for a few minutes while she verified my Hyatt Diamond status.

When the representative came back, she told me she had updated my Mlife status to Platinum, and that it would be reflected online in 10-15 minutes.

The entire call took about 6 minutes, and my status was updated well within the timeframe she mentioned.

Does Mlife status have any tangible benefits?

Only after I jumped through all these hoops did I finally look into the benefits of Mlife Platinum status, to which I am now entitled. I wasn't exactly overwhelmed. Here are the most tangible benefits of the partnership:

• Earn elite-qualifying night and stay credit at Mlife properties. Unlike the Starwood Preferred Guest partnership with Total Rewards, which limits elite-qualifying nights to 10 annually, and doesn't award elite-qualifying stays, the Hyatt-Mlife partnership allows you to earn unlimited elite-qualifying stays and nights while staying at Mlife properties. That's convenient for picking up extra stays if you think you'll fall short by the year's end (it's nice that winter is a less popular time to visit Vegas anyway, driving down your per-stay cost even further).
• Redeem Hyatt Gold Passport points at Mlife properties. While it's usually possible to find Las Vegas properties cheap enough to make point redemptions feel wasteful, that's not always the case. If you need to be in Vegas on a particularly expensive weekend, and especially if you need to stay at a particularly expensive Mlife property on that weekend, a Hyatt Gold Passport reservation could save you some serious cash.
• On-property Mlife Platinum benefits. These are quite a bit more nebulous than the foregoing, but they're not nothing. If you've ever waited for an hour or more in a Las Vegas buffet line, you may find the ability to skip those lines extremely tangible! Skipping cab lines and priority access to pool bungalows and cabanas can save you time and make your vacation that much more relaxing as well.