vpFREE2 Forums

Caesar property tripping

Well, I have two circumstances that come up.

At “local” (Midwestern) Caesar properties, there are occasions when I’m traveling in the area with my wife and might want to stop in and burn some reward credits at the steakhouse; sounds like, if I want offers from those properties, I should not do this unless I also plan to put in some decent play the same day (I do have a Plan B for such properties – on trips when I’m actually playing, go to the steakhouse, and after dinner, order a couple of rare ribeyes, and put them in a cooler to take home for later enjoyment). I did not previously realize that I would be “tripped” for ONLY spending points, but not asking for anything comp’ed or using any coupons whatsoever – just “spending” what I’d
earned.

The second situation is when I attend a meeting in Las Vegas which is often held at a Caesar property, and at which I sometimes go to the Diamond lounge for a meal (or what they call a meal), or use reward credits for a restaurant meal, but because of the inferior games there, I don’t play at all (plus I don’t have that much free time when attending the meetings) – sounds like, if I don’t care about Vegas offers, I can do that with impunity, since the “punishment” doesn’t bother me. If I cared about being “tripped”, I could pay for the meals, since it’s a business trip.

Any thoughts on just whether checking into the hotel at the VIP desk when attending a business meeting at a Caesars property, but otherwise using no “special treatment”, etc., will cause me to be “tripped” if I don’t plan to play? I often check in at the Diamond / Seven Star desk to avoid long lines, but my room
is reserved by and being paid for by the meeting organization, so it’s not even a VIP reservation. Should I become completely invisible by checking in with the rank and file?

The key to understand, I guess, is that, while TR is a company-wide program, Diamond status is of very little value (at least at the Diamond level, I don’t know about Seven Star treatment) at the properties where you don’t play or to which you don’t go very often, other than having reward credits to spend. This is consistent with my experience asking for comps at such low-attendance / low-play properties – although I’m Diamond, it doesn’t count with them, and they are only willing to give me a “casino rate” (sometimes) “since you haven’t been here / played here lately” – and then to comp me at checkout based on my play for the stay. To me, it’s a little frustrating to earn Diamond status mostly at a property with no hotels
and little to offer besides restaurants, and not to be able to use that status at other properties – but at least I get the way it works now, and obviously have to play according to their rules.

–BG

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  1. Caesar property tripping

As someone said, just spending your comps in Vegas will trip you. If you don’t care about offers from Vegas, don’t worry about one trip where you are tripped. If you do care about Vegas offers! one “zero play” tripping probably won’t hurt much. But if you get several zero play trips, you could get “no mailed”. That’s why my general advice is to always try to play at least something if you are visiting a Diamond Lounge or using comps, and especially if taking a room or free play offer. Putting through a free play coupon without playing further also will trip you.

Similarly if you play at other
cities, a zero play trip or two might result in sudden ending of offers from the city.

Another trip back to a place where you got zero play and you do play may get you back on the mailing list again, but you never know.

Regarding checking-in while on a business trip…

If it’s a market where you want to keep your offers, you might want to just play it safe and check-in through the general line. Basically if the front desk clerk adds your total rewards card to your room, you will get tripped. I imagine they are trained to do this because most people want to earn reward credits for their expenses during the trip.

Even if it’s a market that you don’t care about, you should still be aware that it has (a slight) effect. Rarely, you might receive an offer from a casino somewhere else in the country that you’ve never been too. These “seeder” offers, I’ve been told, are partially based on a system-wide average, so running one market into the ground with a bunch of zero-play days, can bring these seeder offers down. Of course those seeder offers are so rare, no one would fault you in considering that impact negligible.

Regarding the frustration of having reward credits you feel you can’t use…

You can always convert them into freeplay after you are done on a day you were playing. You lose some value because the freeplay rate isn’t 1:1 (rate differs depending on tier level), but since most casino meals are overpriced anyway, it might be a wash given the scenario. It’s actually a good idea to convert your balance into freeplay anyway, because if you don’t have reward credits left, you can utilize the discretionary comps you’ve been earning. There is a daily limit on how many credits you can convert, though.

At some restaurants, etc. at some properties you can also convert points to gift cards and then you would not be tripped the next time you stop in just to eat at the steak house or use the spa.

d

Dave