Play Total Rewards

At WorldatWork's 2018 Total Rewards Conference, held recently near Dallas, many speakers encouraged using total rewards—compensation, benefits, work-life quality and career development—to. Total Rewards are able to be achieved while dining at any one of Caesars' 250 approved locations. From extravagant restaurants owned by iconic chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Bobbly Flay, to the buffets and food courts that feed the casino grinders, there are ample opportunities to earn Tier Credits regardless of your budget or appetite.

• Total Rewards Catalog

Total Rewards is the players club used by all Caesars Entertainment casinos. This includes resorts in Las Vegas, Reno, Kansas City, Biloxi, Tunica, Atlantic City and Cherokee. Total Rewards is used at more casinos than any other rewards card.

1. It all started with Total Rewards. Caesars Rewards has a lot to live up to after being named the 'Best Players Club' by USA Today's '10Best' Readers' Choice Awards. When it started in 1997, Total Rewards was the first fully integrated national player rewards program. Caesars Rewards is the casino loyalty club that every competitor.
2. TOTAL REWARDS ® Here are four distinct levels, or tiers, of Total Rewards membership. The more you play and enjoy all the great entertainment options offered at the nearly 40 Total Rewards resorts and casinos, the more Tier Credits you'll earn and the more benefits you will unlock.

Every Caesars Entertainment casino has a Total Rewards center. This is where players sign up for a Total Rewards card. All it takes is a photo ID. Members must be at least 21 years of age. Total Rewards accounts may be created at Totalrewards.com. Players can also make an account by applying for a Total Rewards credit card. Table game players may create an account at the pit, as well as receive reprinted cards.

• Harrah's Phoenix Ak-Chin
• Harrah's Southern California
• Harrah's Joliet
• Harrah's Metropolis
• Horseshoe Hammond
• Horseshoe Southern Indiana
• Horseshoe Council Bluffs
• Harrah's Council Bluffs
• Harrah's New Orleans
• Horseshoe Bossier City
• Harrah's Louisiana Downs
• Horseshoe Baltimore
• Harrah's Gulf Coast
• Tunica Roadhouse
• Horseshoe Tunica
• Harrah's North Kansas City
• Harrah's Lake Tahoe
• Harvey's Lake Tahoe

• Harrah's Reno
• Harrah's Laughlin
• Harrah's Las Vegas
• Caesars Palace
• The Cromwell
• Linq
• Bally's Las Vegas
• Rio
• Flamingo
• Paris
• Planet Hollywood
• Bally's Atlantic City
• Caesars Atlantic City
• Harrah's Atlantic City
• Harrah's Cherokee
• Harrah's Cherokee Valley
• Caesars Windsor
• Harrah's Philadelphia

How to Use a Total Rewards Card

Every slot and video poker machine has a slot where the Total Rewards card is inserted. The digital display on the console will welcome the player to the machine by name and the number of points earned so you know that it has been accepted. Table game players should give the card to the pit boss or dealer.

Slot players earn 0.2% in comps when using the Total Rewards card. Video poker machines pay 0.1%. Table game comps are dependent on the game played, average wager and time at the table. Poker players earn $1 an hour when playing cash games. Caesars Palace pays $2 an hour. Purchases made at restaurants, hotel and shopping return 1% in comps.

Players earn one credit for every $5 wagered at slots and $10 on video poker. Table game players earn tier points based on the level of play.

Active players will receive offers through the mail. These include free rooms, food and slot play. Players that give any level of action should log into Total Rewards regularly when planning casino trips. There are often hotel offers that are not sent as mailers. Log in to reserve hotel rooms as some offers may not be visible.

How to Redeem Total Rewards Points

Casino app that pays real money. There are two ways to spend Total Rewards points. Any restaurant, hotel or shopping entity at a Caesars casino will accept the points as comps. Players may prefer to exchange comps for free play. These have half the value when used that way. Diamond players receive a 20% bonus for free play redemption. Seven Stars players get 40% more free play when exchange rewards credits into free play.

Slot players receive 0.2% in comps. Video poker players earn 0.1%. Players that wish to convert comps to free slot play receive half the value. The exceptions are Diamond players (0.06%) and Seven Stars players (0.08%). Table game comps differ depending on the game.

New players start out at Gold. This is also the reset for March 1 when a player with a higher tier did not earn enough point to retain it.

Platinum players receive a few perks. Some restaurants, hotel front desks and cashier cages have VIP lines for Platinum players. These players receive a 15% discount at the gift shop.

The big benefits begin at the Diamond level. There are more VIP line privileges. Each casino will offer this service to Diamond players. There is an exclusive Diamond Lounge that offers free drinks and appetizers to guests in the late afternoon and early evening hours. Diamond players do not pay resort fees. These guests receive a $100 birthday dinner every year.

Seven Stars players receive all of the Diamond benefits. Additional ones include never paying for a room, a $500 birthday dinner credit, the top room available at check in and early check in and out. There are also annual events for Seven Stars players.

Total Rewards Tier Points Required

Slot players earn one tier credit for every $5 in slot wagers or $10 in video poker coin-in. The following show the number of points required in a year to achieve a tier. Players maintain the tier through the remainder of the current year, through the entire next and until March 1 of the next year. Players start at Gold until Platinum is achieved.

• Platinum: 5,000 tier points
• Diamond: 15,000 tier points
• Seven Stars: 150,000 tier points

Seven Stars players must earn 150,000 tier points in a year to achieve that level but that is not the only requirement. Seven Stars players must be invited into the exclusive club.

There are ways to earn a tier level in a day. Players also earn tier credit points to help those that only travel to a casino a few times a year to move up in the ranks. The list below shows how a player can move up the ranks faster by playing in one day, as well as the points earned.

• 500 tier points in one day: 125 bonus tier points
• 1,000 tier points in a day: 1,000 bonus tier points
• 2,500 tier points in a day: 5,000 bonus tier points (automatic Platinum status)
• 5,000 tier points in a day: 10,000 bonus tier points (automatic Diamond status)

Many traditional hotel loyalty programs have been linking up with casino loyalty programs in recent years. This has provided them a foothold in Las Vegas, a city where mainstream brands have not had a strong presence. I think it's been a good move because those mainstream properties that did exist tended to be in off-strip locations that don't compare to the mega resorts bringing in all the tourists. (I had to look up the Westin Las Vegas to figure out where it is — and it's only one block away from Caesars.)

Caesars' Total Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest were last to the altar but managed to create a partnership that I would place near the top of the pack. It's one notch below the Hyatt/MGM relationship for two main reasons: (1) It doesn't include an extensive status matching scheme, and (2) there is a cap of 10 on the number of elite-qualifying nights you can earn each year by staying at Caesars properties. To its credit, there are also many non-Vegas locations that participate, including Harrah's and Harvey's in Lake Tahoe with great access to the Heavenly ski resort. I'm more likely to spend a week there than in the desert.

I am not an expert on casino rewards programs, but when the Hyatt/MGM partnership came out I did my best to review MGM's M life program. Today I'll attempt to do the same with Caesars' Total Rewards.

Elite Status and Tier Credits

Total Rewards has four elite tiers that you can gain access to through accumulation of Tier Credits (TC). All members start out at Gold status and will earn Platinum status with 5,000 TC, Diamond status with 15,000 TC, and Seven Stars status with 150,000 TC. Let's assume you aren't going to earn Seven Stars, just as you probably wouldn't earn NOIR with M life.

Tier Credits are earned through gaming and other resort spend. You'll get 1 TC for each $5 played at a slot machine or $10 played at a video poker machine. TC awarded for table games depends on your length of play and average bet — but a good player probably will lose less money if it's a game of skill rather than chance.

Earning TC through resort purchases appear to be greatly accelerated as some of the resources I read suggested it had been 1 TC per $5 as early as January this year. But now Caesars is advertising the opportunity to earn 1 TC for every $1 spent at its hotels and at participating restaurants and shops.

Total Rewards members with Platinum, Diamond, and Seven Stars status (i.e., anyone but entry-level Gold members) can earn 100 TC for every stay — up to 2,500 TC per year — at a Starwood hotel after linking their SPG and Total Rewards accounts. By requiring some status up front it essentially prevents you from stumbling into status by accident through Starwood stays alone. It does help existing Total Rewards elites keep their status, but it's an interesting sign of how far the two programs go to prevent any semblance of a status match. Fortunately the earning process for eligible members is pretty automatic and easy to set up. Update: The partnership with SPG has ended, but you can still learn about other Total Rewards partners.

Finally, Total Rewards offers bonus TC when you earn a certain number in one 'day,' measured from 5 AM to 4:59 AM the following morning. This has lead to what is called 'Diamond in a Day' whereby if you earn 5,000 TC you can get 10,000 bonus TC and achieve the 15,000 TC necessary for Diamond status. I think the major issue here is exhaustion: one person reported success playing $10 hands at video poker for four hours, with a rather numb behind at the end of the ordeal. But we're all used to sitting in a plane for four hours or more, right? 😉

Rewards Credits

Similar to the difference between elite qualifying miles and award miles in airline programs, Total Rewards differentiates between Tier Credits that contribute to elite status and Rewards Credits that can be used for free play and comps. Rewards Credits (RC) are earned at the same rates as TC: 1 for every $5 on slots; $10 on poker; or $1 spent on rooms, shopping, and dining. Table games are variable. You can also get 1 RC for each $1 spent on various activities like a round of golf.

Redeeming RC is more complicated and less lucrative than earning them. There are also loads of other partners include fuel rewards, a Total Rewards Visa, and an online marketplace. If I were to do the Diamond in a Day challenge, I would earn 5,000 RC plus about 1,250 more for my hotel and dining expenses during the rest of the trip. 6,250 RC is only enough for a $25 gift card — a valuation close to 0.4 cents.

If you want to stick to travel, Total Rewards partners with Hawaiian Airlines, and you can exchange 2 RC for 1 HawaiianMile. Or, not surprisingly, they partner with SPG. I did a random search for hotels in Bali. A $140 room at the Westin Nusa Dua (also available for 10,000 Starpoints) was 22,500 Rewards Credits — a valuation close to 0.6 cents.

The 'best' deal is free play — assuming you want to gamble with your rewards and think you stand a chance at winning them back. You can't cash out if you lose it all. The amount of free play is proportional to your elite status, but works out to $1 per 200 RC for Gold members up to a maximum of $1 per 125 RC for Seven Stars.

Total Rewards Elite Benefits

You can find a complete list of elite benefits on the Total Rewards website, so I will not discuss them at length. The most consequential are those that concern discounts, priority service, and upgrades. Along the way you'll get spammed with special offers.

Everyone gets a 10-25% discount at casino gift shops and special pricing at select restaurants. Platinum members get a chance at room discounts based on play history as well as the option to transfer Rewards Credits to a friend. But the cap of 5,000 RC per year is worth at most $40 in free play to a Seven Stars member. It's my opinion that these benefits aren't worth much.

Diamond members who reach 15,000 TC start to get more meaningful perks like Diamond Lounges with free drinks and snacks as well as priority lines at restaurants, check-in, and other service areas. You'll get a $100 credit for a 'Celebration Dinner,' and additional benefits are awarded as you make your way to Seven Stars status.

Seven Stars members get many of the same Level 2 benefits but on every stay (and minus the airfare credit).

Get a Status Match

As I said earlier, there is no extensive status matching scheme, but there is one match available and a few other suggestions.

If you are a Seven Stars member of Total Rewards, you have achieved an invitation-only tier comparable to M life NOIR status and you probably don't need to read this post. But you do benefit from the only status match available, from Seven Stars to SPG Gold elite. There are no matches from any SPG tier to Total Rewards, nor are any other Total Rewards tiers able to match to SPG.

It's possible to buy your way into status with either program. Anyone can get the SPG Gold status as a benefit of the American Express Platinum Card for about $400-450. And those who apply for the semi-exclusive Founder's Card for a net cost of $295 can get Total Rewards Diamond status.

Conclusion

I think the whole Total Rewards program makes more sense than M life. Rather than talking about confusing terms like 'theoretical win' it's a more straightforward 'play this much and you'll get this many points.' On the other hand, all the bonus offers and improved earn rates on resort spend suggest a hint a desperation. (Caesars has been having financial issues for a while, partly since it lacks a major presence in Macau.)

But desperation is great as long as the benefits are still worthwhile and these seem to be okay. Most of the rewards, as always, will go to those who gamble a lot. I view elite status as a way to make the trip more enjoyable by cutting through all the crowds. Blowing loads of money at the blackjack table to earn status doesn't make sense to me. It might make sense if I could focus my expenses in certain areas, such as choosing to dine at participating restaurants and concentration my (limited) gambling at certain casinos.

To be cost-effective, the Founder's Card is the best approach to earning status with Total Rewards, though I'm not convinced the benefits are worth it. Platinum status with M life is an easier sell because it's included with my Gold Passport Diamond status.

That said, the 'Diamond in a Day' offer is appealing for less rational reasons. Playing video poker with perfect strategy is reported to offer odds of greater than 99%. It would take $50,000 of coin-in to earn 5,000 TC, and a 1% loss would be $500. The value of the Rewards Credits would be negligible: $33 of free play if I meet my goal. My guess is I won't play perfectly, and I haven't yet managed to sit at a machine for longer than 30 minutes. But if I can sip free drinks while I hold a little cheat sheet in front of me the whole time, maybe I can do it and at least have a story to share.

Total Rewards Catalog