Is there a definitive guide to "back end comps?"

I have never gotten them before, but I have also never asked. I've seen plenty of postings, and this is what I have garnered and what I still have questions about, based on suggestions from various board members of whom's experience and knowledge is unknown.

Please confirm or refute the assumptions I have gathered below.

• Casinos are more likely to give you back end comps if you've used all of your rewards credits (whatever they are named, points, dollars, freeplay) first
• Casinos can give you more back end comps if you stay in a cheaper room
• If you don't ask for back end comps a few trips in a row but have done your due diligence in continuing to gamble at your normal pace, your offers could grow or you may be gifted a free dinner mid-trip just for checking into a rewards center desk, because their back end info on you suggests they still have X dollars to play around with for you, because you haven't been "using" them
• You must ask for back end comps the latest into your trip as possible, but before check out
• Back end comps can only be applied towards things charged to your room
• The easiest way to obtain back end comps besides gambling more than they expected you to based on your habits/data, is to simply ask someone at the rewards desk, or your host if you have one and used him or her to book the trip.

So how right or wrong are the above, and anything to add?

 

My best advice is just play how you normally would, charge everything you buy to your room but don’t spend more than you’re comfortable with having to actually pay for and then go in to the host office on the last day and ask if they can evaluate your play and help you out with room charges. It’s kind of intimidating but just try to be confident. The worst they can say is “no” and then you’re just left paying for what would have anyways.

 

It's mainly an annoying CET LV thing to force you to use your reward credits before giving back end comps.

 

Agree with some of what you say but I don’t understand your third bullet (the long one).

Yes. You should try to ask for backend comps before you leave but there will be times, when your host is off. You can have someone at VIP look at your play and they can comp off whatever. Sometimes your host can credit you back uncomped charges upon his/her return. At Mlife I think they said within 2 days following your departure.

I always use my host for the comp review so I don’t often go to the desk. Mostly call VIP or maybe visit the host on duty if my host is not available.

I try not to get extravagant rooms because it’s not a high priority. I travel with my family so having 2 beds is more important & I no longer like playing for a 2 bedroom suite. I focus my comps on fine dining & shows/concerts/boxing. I believe this approach frees up comps that would have been absorbed by the room cost.

You’ve been asking a lot of questions regarding comps & hosts. I would caution you to not chase comps. It happens pretty easily because of the glamour & lifestyle associated with having a host & getting comps. Play within your means.

 

I’m a nobody when it comes to being a gambler (read as a red-chip bettor), but in the game of comps if you don’t ask, you won’t get! I recall the first time I walked into the host office to check on back-end comps - nervous and felt like I should just run with my tail tucked between my legs. Got a comped meal for my play (on top of upfront marketing room comp). Just go in and ask, worst that happens is you lose a few minutes of time; but, you can also ask for more info and they most likely will let you know expectations.

 

Any definitive on whether or not I am supposed to fully use all of my credits/points first before asking about back end comps

What if you have a 2 day stay, and don't the hosts go home and the rewards desks close by 9 or 10 pm? My second day of gambling would have only just started!

My third, long bullet point mainly refers to a time I was in Mandalay, but staying elsewhere, just trying to get a new players card printed. The rewards desk lady gave me a dinner voucher to use at a Mandalay restaurant for "no reason" and I didn't know about comps at the time, but she told me just to consider staying at Mandalay next time. I am wondering if in reality, I had earned some back end comps for previous stays but never collected any, and in theory if this is what she was "using."

About chasing comps/hosts, I promise I am not going to overplay my life and budget, but I want to be sure I don't leave anything on the table just because I wasn't educated. There are plenty of other questions I am not asking like, FINALLY studying Blackjack rules rather than just winging it and knowing the generics.

 

For the OP, you're over-thinking this. Nobody is guaranteed back end comps. That's why they are back end and not upfront. The more you gamble and send, the more you will receive in comps, both front and back end

 

I disagree that I’m over thinking this. I’ve never received back end comps before because I’ve never asked. If I hadn’t been on this forum I would have never known to even ask. So I’m curious as to the best how and why and when.

 

Responses in red.

 

Casinos are more likely to give you back end comps if you've used all of your rewards credits (whatever they are named, points, dollars, freeplay) first

This is mainly a CET policy thing, and it's not even consistent there. But a low-mid level player should plan on CET sweeping out your RCs and basically pretending that's part of your back-end. Of course it's a bit of a paradox - if you use your RCs at point of purchase while you're there, you have less in room charges to apply back-end to.

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Casinos can give you more back end comps if you stay in a cheaper room

Yes.

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If you don't ask for back end comps a few trips in a row but have done your due diligence in continuing to gamble at your normal pace, your offers could grow or you may be gifted a free dinner mid-trip just for checking into a rewards center desk, because their back end info on you suggests they still have X dollars to play around with for you, because you haven't been "using" them

What you are kind of describing/asking here is basically, do I "bank" back-end comps over the course of multiple trips?

My opinion is at the lower levels for an average player, no, not really.

Leaving back-end on the table won't cause your future offers to increase (offers are purely a function of play level), and you don't really carry back-end over from trip to trip. For the average Joe, if you earned any, you gotta ask and use 'em on the same trip or lose 'em.

For bigger players with longer host relationships, I there is more discretionary leeway to overcomp a trip based on undercomping a previous one.

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You must ask for back end comps the latest into your trip as possible, but before check out

Well, you should ask after you know you're done playing for the trip. Before checkout, yeah. Otherwise it's extra work for whoever has to do it if they have to try to process a credit to your credit card account. It happens, but why wait?

I never play on getaway day and if I'm asking for back-end I always do it the night before. I pay off my markers first and then go ask for back-end.

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Back end comps can only be applied towards things charged to your room.

In most cases, yes. "Chits" (like manually written buffet passes) are largely a thing of the past, although I don't think they've disappeared totally.

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The easiest way to obtain back end comps besides gambling more than they expected you to based on your habits/data, is to simply ask someone at the rewards desk, or your host if you have one and used him or her to book the trip.

Pecking order:
1. Your own host if you have one and can contact them and get a response promptly
2. Host on duty
3. Rewards desk

In general, there is more leeway for big players. For example, there have been many accounts from bigger players here about not getting dinged for getting excess comps on a trip where maybe they had a losing streak and tapped out early, because they were undercomped on a previous one.

And there have been posts where a player said their host wiped out all their room charges and advised them to (I'm paraphrasing here) "grab a couple bottles of wine on the way out" to max out the back-end they had earned. I don't know if the player actually charged it to the room or the arrangements were made some other way, but the point is, a $4k/night player doesn't get told to grab a few beers at the gift shop on the way out to max out their back-end, lol.

 

@Chuck2009x - as always, thanks for your knowledge

 

I guess I should add that my front end comps are no longer robust. So if I lose my butt, I expect (& usually get) backend comps. Losing. That is the dark side of comps. Thus my warning on chasing comps.

If I win, I still ask...and I bitch & moan (to myself) if they don’t backend comp anything. One host said no because “you’re winner, winner chicken dinner.” One comped some but left like $200 (plus my restaurant tips). One cleared everything but the tips. My coin-in is fairly consistent & this was all Mlife so you’d think it would be the same. Different properties, different hosts, different times.

 

I think that covers the general principles that an average low-mid-roller can expect. Everybody's going to have their own story because there's no hard and fast rules, just customs.

 

The more I worry about comps the more I lose. At the end of your trip check with your host or host on duty for the backend comps you desire and if you aren’t happy with the answer go somewhere else. It’s not worth losing an extra $1000 to get $200 in comps

 

Thank you Chuck! I'll take these loose rules, yes, I am nothing major so I don't expect anything particularly custom or unique. But I know I've gambled enough in the past and lost my ass that some backend comps could have been given... but I didn't know, so didn't ask!

Weird to me that a player with losses might see more comps even if they gambled equal to someone else, but good news for me because sometimes I do dumb things against the "book" late at night...

I live in Los Angeles, and often my trips are a quick 2 or 3 day weekend, which begins around midnight Friday and ends either Sunday morning or Monday morning with me begging for late checkout (exhausted, hung over, if being honest) and then playing games like opening the room door at the very last minute and continuing to pack, wondering how "check out" really works - I rarely visit a desk or press any buttons on any remotes. As far as I know, hosts and rewards desks are closed by 10 pm, and on the Friday midnight to Sunday 11 am type trips, my second day of two days of gambling won't complete until 3 or 4 am... so if I asked for backend it would have to be Saturday at 9 pm when I have only done 50-66 percent of my gamblin'

 

the bigger your gambling budget, the more back end comps that may be available. Smaller gambling budgets will have a harder time just clearing the free room for "X" number of nights and any added FP, so chances of back end comps being available is slim.

It never hurts to ask, and as in all Comps, it comes down to theo earned for the trip. THEO will determine the amount of comps available for any given trip

 

Not necessarily true. I had a very small gambling budget last Spring, and was able to get my stay comped, as well as a few meals knocked off, based on play.

Your mileage may vary based on ADT, which can play a factor based on budget, or how your game of choice rolls.

 

Sure, the difference with a really big player is just scale.

You or I might have $200 in backend coming and after they clear all our charges, maybe there's $10 in potential backend left over. What's going to happen to it? Nothing, because nobody involved really cares.

But Mr. X, after blowing $200 Gs in a weekend might have $5,000 in backend left over and he knows it and they know it and it's not going to vanish into thin air.

 

Didn't mean to offend. I'm just saying there is no secret to it. All comps are based on theo. Upfront comps are the casino or host assuming you will generate enough theo to make it worthwhile for them. If you end up exceeding that expectation, you may get some more comps on the back end. Its never guaranteed, but some hosts or casinos will do it to try and lure you back in the future. @Chuck2009x 's pecking order list is spot on. Just start at the top of that list and work your way down at the end of a trip.

 

I‘ll add a couple of other things that I found out about along the way through personal experience or here on the VMB.

Mlfe properties and CET properties handle back end comps differently.

Mlfe
If back end comps are a major priority, play where you stay to get the most benefit from back end comps.
If you prefer playing across several mlife properties, just know this dilutes your potential back end comps for the property you are staying at since only your play at that property counts. (You still earn point play, express comps, and accrue tier credits across all properties).
In my experience, Mlife does not force you to use all your express comps before giving you back end comps, although they may hint that you should use them. (There may be cases where you have reached max express comps and they make you use them).
Some years ago I stayed at one mlife property and split my play between two properties, at the end of my trip the host told me I spent too much play at the other property and would only approve a small back end comp.

CET
Your play across all CET properties are cumulative and count towards your back end comp potential at the property you are staying at.
Almost always requires you to use up your credits in advance or they deduct your credits before applying any back end comps.

Other:
Back end comps given are based on this trip, not carried over.

If you have a host, they have discretion to ‘over’ comp occasionally if you are a regular, they know your history and can count on your continued future spend, but it’s still strictly business over the long haul.

Always charge to your room. Always ask for back end comps.
If you stay for example Friday to Sunday and leave around 11am as you mentioned, just go to the rewards desk Sunday morning prior to checkout (they open at 8/9 am depending on the resort) and ask for a host on duty to evaluate your play. It takes maybe 5-10 minutes, it will be yes or no. Hopefully yes!