How to get MGM Rewards status

If you already hold the MGM Rewards Mastercard (FNBO), you're at Pearl the moment the account opens and stays in good standing — no spending required, no waiting period, just the US card itself. The MGM Rewards Iconic Mastercard (FNBO), a $249-a-year premium version of the same lineup, hands you the identical automatic Pearl upgrade. Since both get you there for nothing more than holding the card, there's no reason to pay the Iconic fee just for Pearl — the no-annual-fee base card does the same job.

Gold is a different story: neither card confers it outright. You earn it by accumulating 75,000 Tier Credits in a calendar year, and the cards only change how fast that happens. The base Mastercard earns 1 Tier Credit per dollar on everyday spend and 3 per dollar at MGM Rewards Destinations, so reaching 75,000 credits takes $75,000 in general spend or $25,000 spent directly at MGM. The Iconic Mastercard earns faster — 6 Tier Credits per dollar at MGM properties, 2 per dollar on hotels, dining, gas, and groceries, 1 elsewhere — which brings the same 75,000-credit target down to $12,500 at MGM or $37,500 across its bonus categories. It also adds 10,000 bonus Tier Credits plus a free night once you put $25,000 on the card in a cardmember year, which cuts the everyday-spend route to roughly $65,000.

So the choice comes down to what you're already spending: if MGM stays isn't where most of your money goes, the base card gets you to Pearl for free and leaves Gold as a long grind either way. If you're spending heavily at MGM properties or in the Iconic's bonus categories, its $249 fee pays for itself in how much faster Gold arrives.