Copyright Forbes
Las Vegas may be the world’s largest stage, but MGM Resorts’ loyalty strategy is less about the spectacle and more about how people feel when the curtain falls. In a wide-ranging conversation, Anil Mansukhani, Vice President of Loyalty Marketing at MGM Resorts, unpacked how the company is weaving sports, entertainment, culinary and travel into a loyalty engine designed to create belonging, not just benefits. From Transactions To “I Belong Here” Mansukhani’s starting point is simple: entertainment is the connective tissue. “Entertainment is the lifeblood of what MGM does,” he told me. That idea shows up in the way MGM earmarks inventory for high-value members and curates access that feels personal and memorable. Think front-row moments at Raiders or Golden Knights games, meet-and-greets, and on-field or behind-the-scenes experiences that turn a trip into a story members want to tell. It is not merely about seats. It is about status expressed through experiences that feel earned and unique. “We give our members VIP access to events, from player meet and greets to on-the-field experiences,” Mansukhani said. Those touches create the kind of emotional lift that points alone rarely deliver. Sports Tourism, Weekenders And The Away-Fan Effect Las Vegas has evolved into a bona fide sports destination, and MGM is leaning in. The company plans for visiting fans who turn a single game into a long weekend with friends. With the A’s ballpark rising near MGM Grand and Formula 1 anchoring a new marquee moment on the Strip, the calendar is filling with reasons to extend a stay. Mansukhani framed it as a flywheel: sports draw fans, curated access converts them to loyalists, and those loyalists post, share and persuade their circles to replicate the experience. The MGM portfolio becomes a sandbox where different properties support different segments — couples chasing a culinary high, squads angling for VVIP seats, conference attendees tacking on a day for a game. MORE FOR YOU Cruise As A Canvas For Loyalty The emotional play is not confined to Nevada. MGM recently expanded its partnership with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, exporting the MGM Rewards experience to sea. The headline benefit is notable: “Our Gold members now get a complimentary cruise a year as part of their loyalty benefit,” Mansukhani said. Even more strategically, MGM has connected shipboard play back to the ecosystem. “We enabled our members to earn MGM Rewards while they are sailing on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises,” he added. Earn at sea, redeem on land — for rooms, dining or those hard-to-buy sports and concert experiences. It is a classic example of loyalty as a bridge between brands, with the member at the center. Iconic Card, Iconic Signals Co-brand credit is another lever. Airlines have long treated cards as profit centers and habit shapers. Hospitality economics differ, but the behavioral science is similar. Earlier this year MGM introduced the Iconic Mastercard, and it is seeing promising signs. “We’ve had existing card members upgrade to the annual-fee Iconic card, and a healthy percentage of new applicants are choosing it as well,” Mansukhani said. The card is not just a payment instrument; it is a signal that unlocks experiences, including highly curated events like a private evening at The Mansion paired with a five-star dinner at Joël Robuchon for select cardholders. Those moments travel far on Instagram, but they also live longer in memory. Friction Where It Helps, Ease Where It Matters Loyalty design is a balancing act: make the extraordinary scarce enough to feel special, but keep the everyday effortless. MGM does this by carving out inventory and experiences for top tiers while methodically widening the circle. A meaningful emphasis going forward, Mansukhani noted, is expanding access for the next rung of members who show strong engagement but not yet elite value. That is how you scale emotion without diluting it. Macro travel dynamics help, too. Conventions are back, which often lengthens stays. At the same time, consumer booking behavior is shifting. “The booking window has definitely shortened a bit,” Mansukhani said, echoing commentary from the company’s earnings calls and local tourism data. Shorter windows reward brands that can communicate timely, personalized offers tied to live events and seat maps, not generic percentage-off promotions. Owning The Stage, Partnering For The Show MGM’s scale gives it unusual range. Sometimes it is the producer, not just the venue. The company created The SLAM, a made-for-fans tennis exhibition that brought Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz to Mandalay Bay. As Mansukhani put it, “We created and produced our own event.” Other times, the team works through league and team partnerships to secure ticket blocks and VVIP access. The mix matters: owning certain assets allows deeper customization; partnering extends the slate and keeps the content fresh. Fifty Million Members, One North Star MGM Rewards recently crossed a symbolic mark. “We just crossed the 50 million threshold earlier this year,” Mansukhani said. The base is largely U.S.-centric and growing through hotel check-ins, a new distribution boost from Marriott International, and signups via BetMGM that flow directly into MGM Rewards. Size affords data. Data powers curation. Curation deepens emotion. And emotion, not price, is what keeps members from shopping every stay. What Great Looks Like If there is a throughline to MGM’s loyalty thesis, it is that experiences members cannot easily buy benefits they can quickly price-shop. The winning portfolio blends: Anchor moments tied to sports and entertainment that feel insider and unrepeatable Everyday ease across rooms, dining and check-in that reduces friction and increases satisfaction Off-property extensions, like cruises, that keep the brand relationship active between Vegas trips A payments layer that signals status and funds the experience engine The aspiration is not to capture every dollar of a trip. It is to earn the next trip by making this one feel like it could only have happened with MGM. Emotional Loyalty 2.0 Expect more curated, tier-right access as new venues open and calendars densify. Expect smarter personalization as MGM learns which members are willing to travel for a marquee event and which prefer equally special moments closer to home. And expect the company to continue blending ownership and partnership to keep the slate surprising.
