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Total Rewards "Offers" - What am I doing wrong?

Discussion in 'Comps' started by TwiceTheJava, Jun 3, 2014.

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  1. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    So I have an offer for two free nights. I look at the rate calendar for a week stay. The cost comes to $126/night.

    I go on Kayak.com. Same dates, same hotel. I can get $104-106/night at ANY third-party site.

    In my recent trip report, everyone seemed to think I was crazy to not book through Total Rewards. TR is offering me, quite literally, the highest rate available. I can't find a more expensive way to book than through TR.

    So what am I missing; resort fees? Is the TR rate with resort fees and the other rates without? Unanimously I keep being told that booking through TR is cheaper. What the hell am I missing? Is there some big red "apply offer" button that I'm not seeing? What am I doing wrong?
     
  2. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    try booking it without puting in an offer by just using the monthly calander logged in see what happens

    with out being logged into ur account its hard to know what u are or arent doing
     
  3. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    Ha! Without being signed in to TR, I can get it for $103.71/night ($.29 below the best third-party rate).

    So basically TR just hates me, personally, and doesn't want me back? lol


    Edit: I tried signing in and staying on the same page, and the rate stayed the same.
     
  4. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    just becuase u have a offer for free nites the nites u are trying to stay might not be available.

    if you log in and use the tr calander u can see a years worth of rates and comps , its the easiest way to book.
     
  5. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    I intentionally picked dates the offer applies. Thanks though; I appreciate the suggestions.

    My best guess is that a generic offer currently beats a "my offer" which is why trying to use a "my offer" results in a higher rate. I suppose it's possible that the same thing has occurred on all prior bookings, too.
     
  6. johnjagg

    johnjagg Low-Roller

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    You should also try changing the room type when looking at the dates. I once had an offer for three free nights at Flamingo and entry into slot tournament. When I first checked with the offer code looking at Fab Deluxe rooms it said "No Offer" on all the days. I was surprised because I had just received the offer. By chance I changed the room type to Go Deluxe and the dates changed to "Offer/Comp". I had the same thing happen to me on an offer last November too.
     
  7. Julie888

    Julie888 VIP Whale

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    Even if the TR doesn't seem as good, it might be better to book through them. One, you can cancel if something better comes up. Two, if your play warrants it, you can ask to have the room comped when you check out.
     
  8. buffalo

    buffalo Low-Roller

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    If the money is close to the same, I'd be inclined to not use the offer. Use your card when you play and hope a usable offer comes in the future.
     
  9. Smo

    Smo Mr. Las Vegas

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    Here's your issue. You have an offer for 2 free nights, but you try to use the offer code for a week?!?! :poke:

    Use your 2 nights free comp, then book the rest of the trip either by calling TR and seeing what they'll charge you for the rest of your trip, or use Kayak, Orbitz, or whatever booking site for the remainder of your stay. Now you just saved $200.

    You may have to change rooms during your stay, it's no big deal though. But you'll save a couple of hundred by doing so.

    HTH
     
  10. grosx2

    grosx2 Have fun storming the castle!

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    This is good advice. I'm not positive, but I don't think you can get the room comped if your book through a third party site. You could try calling VIP services and giving them your offer code to see what they can do.
     
  11. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    you cant , only if u book direct can they comp a room , and if you pay for a room thru a 3rd party they cant comp it on the back end either
     
  12. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    I assumed they'd offer the 2 cheapest nights of the 7 for free. Doesn't make much sense to offer two free nights and then punish you for trying to pay for 5 more nights, but oh well.
     
  13. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    not true use the rate calander you can see , ive had the weekends comped and paid for 2 week nites 20$ , its done by there inventory and your play history
     
  14. PHVHost

    PHVHost High-Roller

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    The reason sites like Kayak, Orbitz, etc, have cheaper rates is they buy large blocks of our rooms that VIP guests typically don't want (low floors, non-strip view, pet stay, etc), so you get a discounted rate. If you book through a travel website, the room cannot be comped even if you play strong because of contractual reasons with the travel sites. If you do not intend on gambling, then use the travel websites. If you do intend on gambling, book through TR so there is the possibility of comps. Every property is different, but 100+ avg bet for 4 hours a day on table games is a good guestimate for comp-level play.Hope this helps!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2014
  15. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    Thank you! That helps a lot. I don't often care about what room I get. I usually stay at PH in a Hollywood Hip room with a view of off-strip, and my play level is not high enough to earn me anything beyond what I can get with my standard reward credits. Last trip I earned 408 tier credits during a week stay (lol). I'll stick with southwestvacations unless it saves me less than what the resort fees will be...I'm TR platinum thanks to the visa card, but the front desks sometimes gives me trouble removing the resort fees if I booked third-party.
     
  16. ncfatcat

    ncfatcat Low-Roller

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    First time I went to Vegas in 2011 I had a TR gold card stayed a week at Harrahs for $46 for the entire stay! Booked through the TR website. It was the first week of August though lol.
     
  17. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    Just for fun I looked it up. First 7 days of August, Harrah's, $439. Not bad! Of course all the days on the rate calendar say "offer" and at the top it says "offer code blah-blah has been applied" and I don't see the offer code applied in the trip cost, but that website and I just don't get along. :confused2:
     
  18. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    I'm still having an impossible time getting offer codes to actually work.

    At what point in time does an offer code get applied? When I click "Get trip price," "Book It," or upon check-in or check-out of the hotel?

    Also, for each of "My Offers," there are two offer codes. An "Offer Code:" and one that says "Book online with:" and the two codes are different. I've tried using either of them without success. Do I need to use both somehow?
     
  19. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    I have issues as well with the TR booking engine, since the recent upgrade I have seen calender days, when an offer is valid, and showing as offer unbookable. Or the offer can't be found. Typically in these cases I will call the property directly or the VIP line for Diamond members. If you think the offer is not being applied correct, don't worry about calling the property directly. I also would think they will match rates if a consolidator is under cutting the casino rate.
     
  20. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    Yeah...the thing is with southwest vacations the airfare and hotel are combined into one price. i know from researching airfare rates that what I'm paying for the hotel is cheaper than what TR offers, but I don't have a receipt I can provide TR that explicitly lists the hotel rate. If I could get my offers to apply it might be cheaper to go with TR, but I can't get any "free night" type offer to work. It says the offer code has been applied and I can see "Offer" in the rate calendar, but the trip price never reflects any free nights.

    I guess I have to call them. I just really don't want to deal with TR customer service.
     
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