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Total Rewards vs. Mlife

Discussion in 'Comps' started by ejeffo, Jan 8, 2014.

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  1. ejeffo

    ejeffo Low-Roller

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    Just wondering opinions on which rewards program is better. I have been with Mlife for years now and have stayed in most of the hotels, but have a Harrahs casino here in San Diego so I am considering making the switch... mainly because that is where we do our local gambling.
     
  2. ams722

    ams722 Side Bet Shunner

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    Better in what way?

    Nicer hotels: MLife
    More comps for less play: CET (this is debatable though as they have definitely tightened up their comp nights for low rollers lately)
     
  3. ejeffo

    ejeffo Low-Roller

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    Sorry, should have been more specific. Better in comps is what I am looking for...
     
  4. buckeyetodd

    buckeyetodd High-Roller

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    i'm not a huge player by any means, usually take a grand or so per day for gambling but pretty much play all day at green chip level or a bit better. in the past, this was enough for mgm. i stayed on comped offers from nyny multiple times, mgm, mandalay, mirage etc... i have no idea what has happened but i can't get anything at all anymore from mgm. on the flip side, i can stay at any harrahs property except for caesars any time i want. i guess they just place different values on my level of play. i play mostly table games and splash a little vp in each day.

    there are tons of people on here who are treated very well by mgm but i don't know their levels of play.

    best of luck
    todd
     
  5. ejeffo

    ejeffo Low-Roller

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    We are .25 and 1$ VP players. That is pretty much all we play. Even after they dropped me to Pearl I still get offers for free stays, comps, freeplay, etc. at Monte Carlo, Excalibur, Luxor, etc. Looks like the Aria and MB offers have dried up though.
     
  6. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    i belive cet is better for you and if you did tables then i would suffest mlife.

    with cet you will get free room and little food
     
  7. ams722

    ams722 Side Bet Shunner

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    If you're looking for comps at your level then Caesars properties are the way to go, especially if your local casino is a CET casino.
     
  8. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    We do CET locally and get some comps for Vegas. But, we also do Mlife as they give us nicer rooms and better food options, at Plat/Noir level slot play. All depends on play.
     
  9. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    In my opinion its not even close...

    Total Rewards is the better rewards program but MGM has the better casinos.

    The good thing is its easier for MGM to improve their program than it is for CET to improve their casinos.
     
  10. good4uccm

    good4uccm Tourist

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    can you do both?

    I have a rewards program from a casino on the east coast ( Foxwoods/MGM). I'm not a High Roller at anymeans but wehn i do go we spend the night gamble and eat, they do all right with their rewards. I got a Mlife card when i was in Vegas a few years ago, but its been 2 years and i had to renew it online, sorry for the babbling on but can i have a Ceasers card to? Might be a stupid question but was kind of confused with people asking which one they should have! thanks
     
  11. LA2VegasTrekkers

    LA2VegasTrekkers High-Roller

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    Every casino company has their own program for use at their properties. They are all free to join and you can join as many of them as you want.
     
  12. good4uccm

    good4uccm Tourist

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    thanks

    Thanks that's what i figured.
     
  13. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Trying to be polite and kind... but you can join every casino club you want. YOu can join every airline club you want. You can join every hotel club you want.

    They each want to work towards making your LOYAL to them. They are competitors and hope you do not join the "other guys" but can not stop you, or in all reality, even care.
     
  14. heatherlovesvegas

    heatherlovesvegas VIP Whale

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    Personally the Total Rewards properties aren't that great, I had the credit card. I tried to be loyal for a while then realized I didn't really wanna stay at any of their properties that much.

    I'm a low roller, but overall I've received more from Mlife, not many comps, but still some REALLY good deals, which is enticing to me... They send stuff to you e-mail offers or specific deals in your account, versus TR you have to look at the calendars and see if you have anything.. That's annoying to me.

    Decide what are your favorite properties and play there and sign up for their card. That's my best advice. I have cards everywhere.

    But remember yes, you can have the cards everywhere but if you spend $500 at Mlife, and $500 at TR and $500 at Venetian that's not gonna get you anywhere versus spending $1500 at one place. Best to focus your play if you want to be comped.
     
  15. dankyone

    dankyone VIP Whale

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    Room comps at CET props are extremely easy, but if you care about hotel quality at all you will be disappointed with anything but one of the newer towers at Caesars Palace. Total rewards is a much more transparent program, though, and you can get most of the benefits without dealing with a host. If you are a low level player you are better off with Cet since MGM will give you next to nothing.

    MGM room comps are much tougher but once you get there the hotels are much nicer, particularly Bellagio and Aria. MGM has a lot more to offer higher level players, but much depends on your ability to negotiate with a host ahead of your trip. MGM is very sensitive to how you played on your most recent trip, while the Cet system looks at 2 years of data on your play.
     
  16. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    i would have agree about cet rooms but there redoing there rooms so they wont be that bad and free is free ,so for a low roller it will be fine.

    pretty soon the quad will be a nice place ,cant wait till the cromely opens
     
  17. DonnyC

    DonnyC VIP Whale

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    Disagree.

    Flamingo Go room is nice.

    Some Planet Hollywood rooms are nice too.
     
  18. jdvegas

    jdvegas VIP Whale

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    The Quad will NEVER be a nice place. :wink2:

    [​IMG]
     
  19. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    My experiences over the last 3-4 years.


    Hotel Rooms

    CET will give this out much more often than MLife. The hotels are lower quality though for the price you pay. Yes Planet Hollywood can be nice, but Mirage would be the same price and is significantly better in my opinion.

    CET will give discounts on trips longer than 2-3 days to even low rollers. It seems very difficult to get more than 3 free rooms at any MLife property unless you are at a level where you have a host.

    CET you can see your discounted/comped room rates almost a year out from your trip. MLife you will have trouble finding anything more than 3 months out at times. Right now for example I can not book comped rooms in March at MLife, I am waiting for my spring offers. I had booked my room at Flamingo in March last August I believe.


    CET hotels are absolutely lower quality than MLife hotels in the same tier. CET gives much better discounts for low rollers due to this. They have cheaper properties in which they are willing to give away free rooms. MLife gets more for their rooms so the odds of getting them for free goes down. This comes down to what you want out of rooms. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to pay for a nice room.



    FreePlay/Promo Chips

    For low rollers both are honestly pretty awful at both locations in Vegas. If you have a local casino though they will most likely send out freeplay to you regularly. I get more freeplay offers from Shreveport Horseshoe every month(I go there once a year) than I have EVER received from vegas hotels total.

    MLife does give more of this, but it comes at a cost. Their quarterly offers to me are comped/discounted rooms + $50 freeplay. It just means I get $50 but have to pay more for the room.



    Points for food/entertainment

    To me Mlife wins easily here. The amount of express comps I get far exceed anything I get from CET and I play twice as much at CET. It still isn't much, but at the end of a trip I might have enough for a breakfast and a lunch.






    Summary

    For low rollers($2000 budge or under to me), your biggest comp is by far the hotel room. Just pick if you want free lower quality ones or maybe have to pay some for better quality ones. I don't think the differences in freeplay or points to spend on food really matter. The amounts you get from those I feel is pretty trivial.

    The point where it starts to change is when you gamble enough that they will compe more than just your room off your bill. At that point what restaurantes/spas/bars you like to go to matters. Obviously CET won't comp a meal you had at MGM Grand. :)



    While I would recommend getting a card at your local casino. My expereince has been that my play there doesn't affect Vegas. Shreveport is a 4hour drive for me, so not exactly local. I don't feel my Vegas play affects rates there or the other way around. They seem pretty independent. AGain that would change if I were to have a host for example that would vouch for my play.
     
  20. wolvcub

    wolvcub Newbie

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    I agree with the general sentiment that MLife properties are overall nicer, although they have plenty of crap rooms at Excalibur, Luxor and even Monte Carlow. NYNY could also use an update.

    That said, CET has been upgrading rooms at many of their resorts. The Go rooms at the Flamingo were done not too long ago and are very good middle of the road rooms (and the location is excellent). Rio and Bally's just recently opened upgraded rooms which appear very nice. The Quad will have upgraded rooms soon, although I agree that I'm not sure I'll ever consider that hotel "nice". Finally, some Planet Hollywood rooms are very nice as well (it just tends to be more hit and miss...and even the older rooms are nice, they just show the beating they get from the party crowd. I avoid the Paris rooms as even the slightly upgraded "Red rooms" are not to my liking. Caesars is oviously great if you can get into one of the newer towers (which a $20 bill often does if your offers are only getting you a Forum or Roman tower room).

    There is a general sentiment on this board not to divide your bankroll amongst programs and I agree with that. The one nuance that I don't think gets properly addressed is that you shouldn't split your bankroll for any one given "trip." However, to split trips amongst programs should be fine as most are looking at your ADT when deciding on offers. Sometimes that requires some discipline as dropping a few hundred at an Mlife Property while staying at a CET property (or vice-versa)is going to hurt you in both programs. I try to stay completely "invisible" to any program I'm not dopping my bankroll at on any given trip.
     
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