Update 8/26/19: Bonus has been increased to 20,000 points after $1,500 in spend. No longer comes with the free night though. I think it makes more sense to wait for a free night offer to return.
Update 4/17/19: They are currently offering a free night that can be used at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay,Park MGM or The Mirage. This is in addition to the 10,000 points after $1,000 in spend they normally offer as well. Hat tip to reader Yoshi
M life Rewards has just released their M Life Rewards Mastercard, this new card is issued by First National Bank of Omaha. In this review we will look at the pros & cons of this card and see if it’s worth applying for. Keep in mind unlike other credit cards you need to be 21 years of age to apply for this (as this is a requirement of the M life program).
Contents
Card Benefits Summary
The following are the main marketing points for this card:
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 3x points per $1 spent at M life Rewards Destinations
- 2x points per $1 spent on gas and at supermarkets
- 1x point per $1 spent everywhere else
- 1 Tier Credit for every point earned
- Sign up bonus: 10,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 billing cycles
- Priority hotel check-in at M life Rewards Destinations
- Automatic upgrade to Pearl status which includes…
- Complimentary self-parking at Las Vegas M life Rewards Destinations
- Buffet line pass at Las Vegas M life Rewards Destinations
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- No Annual Fee
- Points earned on the M life Rewards MasterCard can be redeemed for FREEPLAY® or Express Comps™ for use towards rooms, dining, and entertainment
How Much Are Points Worth?
It’s no good knowing how many points this card earns unless we know what these points can actually be used for. As mentioned in the marketing material these points can be redeemed for ‘FREEPLAY® or Express Comps™’. If you’re anything like me, you probably have no idea what those mean.
- Express comps are basically considered resort credit, if something can be charged to your room then it can be paid with an express comp. They officially define it as ‘Real-time Express Comps are the fastest and most convenient way for gaming members to comp themselves at M life hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. If a member is playing at a slot machine and gets the urge to grab a bite to eat or wants to purchase a show ticket, they can use their M life card to instantly redeem rewards at participating venues. Express Comps appear as dollars, making redemption transparent and simple’
- Freeplay are basically gambling credits. They can be used on most slot and video poker games.
1 Mlife point is equal to 1¢, regardless of whether you use it for an express comp or freeplay (although this obviously isn’t nearly as good as cash). This means the sign up bonus is worth a maximum of $100 and the card earns at a maximum of 3% on M life destinations and 2% on gas & supermarkets and 1% on all other purchases.
It’s possible to earn more with other credit cards for gas purchases, supermarket purchases & non bonused spend as well. Also keep in mind you need to redeem a minimum of 1,000 points ($10) when using them for Express comps. There is also a cap of $5,000 for express comps (or $10,000 if you have Noir status).
Status
The only other real benefit this card offers (apart from the sign up bonus and bonus categories mentioned above) is status. You get the following:
- Automatic Pearl Status for as long as your card is active and in good standing
- Receive 1 tier credit per M life reward point earned (e.g if you spend $1 at a grocery store you’d earn 2 tier credits)
Pearl Status
Normally Pearl status requires you earning 25,000 tier credits. It’s the second lowest status (Sapphire is the base status anybody receives when signing up). It comes with the following benefits:
- Complimentary self-parking at Las Vegas M life Rewards Destinations
- Buffet line pass at Las Vegas M life Rewards Destinations
- 10% bonus on points and Express Comps
- 10% discount at participating retail shops
Gold, Platinum & Noir Status
There are three other status levels that are higher than Pearl, their names followed by tier credits required and benefits are:
- Gold: 75,000 Tier credits
- 20% bonus on points and Express Comps
- Priority hotel check-in line
- VIP line access to nightclubs and pool day clubs
- Platinum: 200,000 Tier credits
- 30% bonus on points and Express Comps
- Minimum 15% discount at participating retail shops
- Priority Valet and taxi service
- Annual complimentary cruise with Royal Caribbean
- Noir: Invitation only
- 40% bonus on points and Express Comps
- Complimentary limo service to/from airport
- Guaranteed room, show and restaurant reservations
- Annual complimentary cruise with Royal Caribbean
The benefits aren’t amazing on any of the tiers, unless you’re gambling a lot and earning a lot of points/express comps in which case the bonus multipliers can be very useful. That being said, if you fall into that category you’d earn status quicker by what you’re already doing than through this credit card.
It’s also worth noting that this card gives you Pearl status, but it doesn’t give you the 25,000 Tier credits needed for that status so you’d still need to earn 75,000 tier credits for gold and 200,000 for Platinum.
Annual Cruise Benefit
The one benefit that is intriguing is the annual free complimentary cruise with Royal Caribbean. For Platinum members this is actually the following:
3, 4 or 5-Night Bahamas or Caribbean cruise in an Oceanview Stateroom per year OR (1) $375 or $750 Cruise Fare Credit towards a new booking on any Royal Caribbean International cruise per year. Length of complimentary cruise and amount of Cruise Credit is based on guests recent M life play
If you earned Platinum status entirely from spend on this credit card you’d obviously get the shortest 3 night trip or a $375 cruise fare credit. I’m not even entirely sure if you would be eligible for this benefit considering this other ine print:
Guest must have earned M life tier through spend with MGM Resorts International
Our Verdict
Now that hotels/resorts on the strip are starting to all charge for parking on the strip, people might be interested in this no annual fee card purely for the pearl status it comes with and the free parking associated with pearl status. I’d question how often you’d actually use that benefit, if you’re staying in Vegas most things on the strip are walking distance (and you wouldn’t want to self drive anyway).
The sign up bonus isn’t anything special, at most you’re getting $100 in value and there are plenty of credit cards with a higher cash bonus than that. None of the bonus spending categories are interesting either, with other cards offering better rebates. Personally I don’t see a lot of value in this card.
One last thing to keep in mind is that First National Bank of Omaha is not one of the larger credit card issuers, but they are somewhat inquiry sensitive.
