Total Rewards

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Nynefingers

Well-Known Member
#1
#1
I have a few questions about how the system works. Let me preface this by saying I've searched this site and read every post that mentions "total rewards" within the past year, including the very helpful An easy way to get comped rooms at Harrahs.

Can someone explain to me exactly what will trigger a day for the purposes of figuring my ADT? I know any play using the card will, and I believe any other use of the card including checking point balances will trigger a day. What else does, such as using a room offer? To put it more simply, if I stay no longer than 3 nights (free) and don't use my card on the final day, then will my ADT be exactly equal to my total theoretical divided by the number of days I actually play? If not, what things will mess up my ADT? I can use the card at will for comps, etc. on the days I'm giving them play, right?

I've never stayed at an HET/CET property and have only played on a card a couple of times. I've been getting voicemails from hosts every now and again and I think I'm going to take them up on one of the offers (room, food, "some travel reimbursement"). Are offers from a host treated differently than the room offers from the TR website? Anything to be aware of there to avoid triggering a $0 day? Can I accept a host's offer over the phone without actually meeting them during my stay, and if so, are there any benefits to meeting with them? And what does "some travel reimbursement" usually mean? I'd rather have an idea of what to expect before I call him back. I intend to drive. Can I just ask him for free play or a gas card or something or does this usually only apply to airfare?

On my upcoming trip, I will mostly focus on trying to find great games. If I don't find any game in the vicinity that is especially interesting on it's own, I'll likely follow some of the advice from the thread I linked earlier to comp whore and to try to significantly improve my offers in the future. I'm not ready to go quite as far as bigplayer suggested by being willing to lose $10k in a day, but Diamond in a Day should be feasible, and some other techniques mentioned are definitely on my list to try. As long as I keep high ADT as my primary focus, is it worth a couple hundred in -EV to get Diamond if the variance is not an issue? There should be some machines available that will get me there with an EV of -$250 or less. My primary goal is to receive offers for things with cash value such as gift cards that are sellable or cash/freeplay type offers. RFB is nice, but I'm looking for money or things I can turn into money. Should I bother getting Diamond?

Finally, is there any way to get my Total Rewards account number without having my players card? I've misplaced my players card and I'm not quite sure where to look at the moment. I've tried calling the last property I played at to see if they would give it to me, but they said they couldn't do that.


Thanks for any assistance. I generally avoid getting any card at all, but I think the EV of gaming the TR system may be worthwhile if there aren't any other good games there.
 
Gamblor

Gamblor

Well-Known Member
#2
#2
I find the Harrah's properties are more generous with their room offers than most, even just playing BJ. Heck, a friend of mine played BJ at $10 for several hours, and got comped a couple weekday rooms to Caesar's last week (one of the more expensive properties in AC). You don't have to play slots as the other thread mentioned. What I do find is they're pretty cheap with the comp points itself.

Resorts is actually good with the room offers, sending me free weekend room, even though I tend to avoid that sweaty joint. Stayed at the Ocean Tower once, best way to describe the suite was "stainy" :) Try to get a room at the Rendezvous tower if this bothers you.

Trump is somewhere in the middle with room offers, but are better about comp points (probably because they don't let the pit give out comps).

Don't even bother trying to get a room at Trop, those cheap bastards.
 
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shadroch

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Why do you want Diamond status? It doesn't really get you much. A smaller line when checking in, a lounge that is not much to brag about, and a tournament invite. Give them some decent slot play and you'll get plenty of offers. When they start toi dry up, give them another good day or two.
To me, Diamond status is overated.
 
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tthree

Banned
#4
#4
Any property will replace your lost cards on your next visit. It can be done in the pit or at a rewards customer service center. You just need ID.
 
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Nynefingers

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
Gamblor said:
I find the Harrah's properties are more generous with their room offers than most, even just playing BJ. Heck, a friend of mine played BJ at $10 for several hours, and got comped a couple weekday rooms to Caesar's last week (one of the more expensive properties in AC). You don't have to play slots as the other thread mentioned. What I do find is they're pretty cheap with the comp points itself.

Resorts is actually good with the room offers, sending me free weekend room, even though I tend to avoid that sweaty joint. Stayed at the Ocean Tower once, best way to describe the suite was "stainy" :) Try to get a room at the Rendezvous tower if this bothers you.

Trump is somewhere in the middle with room offers, but are better about comp points (probably because they don't let the pit give out comps).

Don't even bother trying to get a room at Trop, those cheap bastards.
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I've heard that about the rooms, but my bigger concern is getting comps that are worth cash. I'm trying to figure out how to maximize my cash value by getting things like freeplay or gift cards.


shadroch said:
Why do you want Diamond status? It doesn't really get you much. A smaller line when checking in, a lounge that is not much to brag about, and a tournament invite. Give them some decent slot play and you'll get plenty of offers. When they start toi dry up, give them another good day or two.
To me, Diamond status is overated.
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It's not so much that I want Diamond as that I want whatever will maximize my EV. I know on the thread I mentioned in the OP, bigplayer said his rule of thumb for a new account was usually to get Diamond in a Day or show a $10k loss, then they would send excellent offers for quite a while. A $10k loss is a large enough percentage of my BR that I'm not willing to risk that much for the sake of getting good offers (understanding a win is possible too). DIAD however, would be possible for me. Unless DIAD worked for BP because he was doing it at slots with gave a $2k theo rather than the ~$5-800 theo I'm looking at on other machines.

tthree said:
Any property will replace your lost cards on your next visit. It can be done in the pit or at a rewards customer service center. You just need ID.
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I understand this, but I need my number now so that I can log into the website before I return to any of the CET casinos.
 
Dyepaintball12

Dyepaintball12

Well-Known Member
#6
#6
shadroch said:
Why do you want Diamond status? It doesn't really get you much. A smaller line when checking in, a lounge that is not much to brag about, and a tournament invite. Give them some decent slot play and you'll get plenty of offers. When they start toi dry up, give them another good day or two.
To me, Diamond status is overated.
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I like to spin this into a positive light. You have no line at check-in, sometimes with a private room with free food and drinks, you can often get upgraded rooms, and free food at Diamond Lounges around the country.
 
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alwayssplitaces

Well-Known Member
#7
#7
I'm diamond and I get comped weekday rooms at almost any Harrah's property. I can get Imperial Palace rooms comped any day, even July 4th. I can even get a premium room comped at Caesars AC, which is normally over $200 on weekdays. There's a special promotion where I can convert my comp dollars to a gas card at (I think) 2:1 ratio. Gas is as good as cash.

The best way is to concentrate your playing time from midnight to midnight. When playing blackjack, when you first sit down at a table and hand over your card, bet 3 or 4 times your usual minimum bet for the first few hands while the pit boss is watching. That'll be entered as your average bet. During your session the pit boss will sometimes see you betting your minimum and sometimes betting 12 times your minimum. He'll most likely leave your rating alone till you're done, and it'll disguise your spread. So at a quarter table you could have an average bet of $75 in the system even if your real average is lower.

It's nice to get free buffets and no waiting in line for them. Free (if you don't tip) valet parking.

You get the best value by focusing on Harrah's. They have casinos in a lot of places. It might come in handy to get a free room in New Orleans for a vacation.
 
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assume_R

Well-Known Member
#8
#8
shadroch said:
Why do you want Diamond status? It doesn't really get you much. A smaller line when checking in, a lounge that is not much to brag about, and a tournament invite. Give them some decent slot play and you'll get plenty of offers. When they start toi dry up, give them another good day or two.
To me, Diamond status is overated.
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Hey shadroch.

How much play and at what machines? I don't want to give lots of action at a 5% house edge machine...how do you know the house edge and if the offers will trump it?
 
1

13Counter

Active Member
#9
#9
Diamond Card

I like the lounges at their properties, great for free drinks when you don't want to play. Also I received a free 7 day cruise from NCL from Harrah's. Only paid for the taxes. Not too bad in my opinion.
 
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shadroch

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
My Harrahs mailers from AC and Vegas both hve July 4th as a free nite. July 3rd is a call for special price nite, but the 4th is free in both cities,
 
Gamblor

Gamblor

Well-Known Member
#11
#11
13Counter said:
I like the lounges at their properties, great for free drinks when you don't want to play. Also I received a free 7 day cruise from NCL from Harrah's. Only paid for the taxes. Not too bad in my opinion.
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How was the BJ on the cruise?
 
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PonyPrincess

Active Member
#14
#14
Gamblor said:
How was the BJ on the cruise?
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I've been on a harrah's/ncl cruise before and the onboard casino is basically worst everything you can think of.

The BJ on the ones I've been are always 8deck H17.

Also, lol. I got a comped weekend at the Imperial Palace and in the middle of the night some other people
came into the room while I was sleeping the same night I checked in.
 
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Automatic Monkey

Automatic Monkey

Banned
#15
#15
PonyPrincess said:
...Also, lol. I got a comped weekend at the Imperial Palace and in the middle of the night some other people
came into the room while I was sleeping the same night I checked in.
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That isn't always a bad thing, you know.
 
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Nynefingers

Well-Known Member
#16
#16
Shad, it sounds like you are the one to ask about this...seems like you, bp, and one of two others are the resident experts on the comp system and how ADT is calculated.

If I accept an offer for 2 or 3 nights at a HET property and play one day only, is that any different on my ADT than if I showed up and played one day without staying at the hotel? If that's the same, what do I need to do on the other days aside from avoid using my card? Specifically, can I sign food to my room if I expect it to be comped at the end of my stay? Will closing out my bill (if any) at the end of the trip trigger a "day" if I don't use my card?

I already know what kind of play I intend to give them to generate a large theo, I just want to know how they figure out how many days I've been there for the ADT calculation.
 
ChefJJ

ChefJJ

Well-Known Member
#17
#17
alwayssplitaces said:
I'm diamond and I get comped weekday rooms at almost any Harrah's property. I can get Imperial Palace rooms comped any day, even July 4th. I can even get a premium room comped at Caesars AC, which is normally over $200 on weekdays.
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I'm not diamond, but get similar offers. Seems like this might be more a factor of ADT than card status?
 
N

Nynefingers

Well-Known Member
#20
#20
ChefJJ said:
Thank you. I shouldn't have ended my statement with a question :grin:
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Agreed. I've heard it said many times that ADT is the primary factor in offers, which is why that's my main focus. I know that bigplayer said for a new card, his rule of thumb was Diamond in a Day or lose $10k in order to get great offers. I suspect that the Diamond in a Day piece of the puzzle is probably not so much about the Diamond status itself but rather the ADT that results from getting there in a day.
 
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