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The value a Platinum level slot player can expect under the new MLife reward program

Discussion in 'Comps' started by Gandolf One, Sep 18, 2012.

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  1. Gandolf One

    Gandolf One Tourist

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    Yes, I am going on a little bit of a rant. Feel free to comment but realize I am not trashing Mlife properties- just their "system" because I don't think they even understand it!
    What some may view as "entitled" I view as my investment; I am of the belief that playing a grand each day over extended time periods should pay the upfront cost of a room for a few days.

    I love MLife properties and have invested $$$$ over the last year to increase my value as a player to them. However, the way they have treated many of us lately leaves a lot to be desired.

    First off, I am a slot only player. I stayed at Aria last November for 7 nights; I prepaid for a flight/room package with Southwest; we had a host review our play and all food, beverages and resorts fees were comped. The host said that he wasn't going to touch our Express Comps (because of our level of play/ADT and said that we were "undercomped"- his words). Earned over 100,000 tier points playing mostly 'specialty' slots and that was "limited" play at the property as it was not a comped room.

    In March, we increased our play because the duration of our trip was shorter. Stayed at Bellagio for 3 nights free on an offer with $300 fb. We played hard at Bellagio; I played an average of about 8 hours per day, my husband the same. My gaming budget was about $3600 and all wins were recycled. I had many good hits; my husband had a healthy gambling budget as well, he even had a few single hit over a grand and recycled his money as well. We hit Platinum easily.

    Recently, due to the audit, our express comps were zeroed out. E-mail to ask why - we were first directed to the Mlife accounting department, next to Bellagio host and I finally gave up. There was only a few hundred plus that were left over; still, it's a few hundred dollars.

    Here's a post of the email exchange:

    > -----Original Message-----
    >
    >
    > Good afternoon,
    >
    > My name is Janet Tiffany, account number ____________.
    >
    > We visited Aria in November 2011 and Bellagio in March 2012.
    >
    > The Aria visit we prepaid for our room and at the end of our visit,
    > based on play and issues during our stay, we were comped charges and
    > all resort fees. We were told that that would not affect any express
    > comps we earned during our stay. We had express
    > comps after this visit. We used our express comps at Jean Philippe on
    > the morning we left.
    >
    > We took advantage of an offer at Bellagio for 3 free nights and $300
    > food and beverage credit for March. Again, we were told this was not
    > inclusive of any express comps we earned. We did go to Mirage the day
    > after this stay and enjoyed a meal at the burger place. For this meal
    > we used express comps. That was the only use of express comps that
    trip.
    >
    > Our account since that time has shown a balance of $xxx in express
    > comps. I logged in a few days ago and saw that we now have .01 in
    > express comps. Obviously, would like an explanation
    >
    > Posted on Facebook and total to contact mlife services. Helpful
    > representative provided me with this email; she said that the notation
    > on the account showing that $300 was taken? Again, I think the issue
    > was that our $300 food and beverage credit at Bellagio did not show
    up.
    >
    > Could you please look into this discrepancy? I appreciate your
    > assistance.
    >

    <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Dear Ms. Tiffany,
    >
    > We apologize for the issues you've encountered with express comps.
    > During your stay at Bellagio, we show that $x.xx was debited in
    > express comps for Buffet Charges. Our research shows that you were
    > comped $300 food and beverage, and this $x.xx was the debited from
    > express due to the small sum that exceeded the #300 limit.
    >
    > As far as the rest of the charges, this is the result of a recent
    > audit by our company to settle past express comps that were not issued

    > correctly, or were not issued at all. A bulk of these additional
    > express comps were from Aria resort fees dating back from a 9 night
    > stay in 2011. If you have any additional questions about the express
    > comp balance back in 2009, please feel free to contact your host at
    Aria.
    >
    > Sincerely,
    >
    > name omitted
    >
    > VIP Services Supervisor
    >
    > Bellagio Resort & Casino
    >
    > Phone: Fax:
    >
    >@bellagioresort.com
    >
    > Bellagio has earned the prestigious AAA Five-Diamond Award for 2012
    >
    > Please consider the environment before printing this email
    >
    >
    >
    >
    Thank you for your response, name omitted. I appreciate you taking the time to
    explain. And your explanation does explain $xxx of the loss; still does
    not explain the additional comps taken as they were earned after the
    Aria trip. Is it mlife's position to leave a negative comp point
    balance?

    From my view, here's what happened
    Express comps earned 11/11
    xxxx

    Jean Philippe- $xxx

    Resort fees
    More than $xxx

    Yes, over on my earned comps; Should leave a 0 balance

    Express comps earned 3/12
    $xxxish
    Used 3/12
    Approx $xxx
    Remainder approx $xxx

    How is it that mlife is pulling comps I earned after the aria visit?

    In this instance, I left Aria with approximately $xxx in express comps
    earned in November. Understand that they could pull these even though
    host at Aria said they wouldn't be effected.


    However, I earned approximately $xxx in express comps during Bellagio
    stay. I did use some at Mirage on our last day.

    At this point, I'm not going to spend the energy pursuing this issue. I
    guess going forward I'll make sure we use any accumulated points prior
    to departure.

    It's just a bit frustrating as I don't understand the system and my
    October trip to MGM does not include a food or beverage credit. I was
    hoping to use those points during that trip.

    Sincerely,
    Janet



    Dear Ms. Tiffany,

    I apologize I could not answer all the questions regarding your express
    comps. Regrettably, we have a limited access to the guest express comps
    in our department.

    Please feel free to contact casino marketing at 702-693-7222 or Aria
    casino marketing at 702-590-7000 to conduct a further research.

    Thank you so much for your understanding and we are looking forward to
    assisting you during your next stay.

    Sincerely,


    name omitted

    VIP Services Supervisor

    Bellagio Resort & Casino

    Phone: Fax:



    Bellagio has earned the prestigious AAA Five-Diamond Award for 2012

    Please consider the environment before printing this email"


    Okay, fine. Not worth the energy.

    Present day: I am now trying to 'fill in' hotel dates for our December trip. Of course, it's a bit too early to have December offers.

    Called Aria tonight to see what the rates were. I was quoted the "platinum" discount rate of $590 for a 4 night stay in December.

    Here is the actual rate off of Expedia and it includes a $100 food and beverage offer:


    Room type Sat Sun Mon Tue Avg rate per night*
    Deluxe King - $100 Food & Beverage Credit
    Free cancellation

    + Expedia Extras
    $159 $119 $129 $139 = total with Taxes is $619


    Clearly, they are offering me a rate that is higher, when you account for the food and beverage credit, than I can get with NO play at Expedia. Any input on this? Why bother even offering a "platinum casino rate" is it's less than anyone can get on Expedia?


    I made the decision earlier tonight to 'pull' my October trip to Vegas. I realize that this maybe "transition" issues but I can play at my locals and pay for rooms and food without flight fees and more time off work. So, their current policy is only encouraging me to head to Vegas for "longer" stays- not quick trips and not bother investing at Mlife properties. I think many of us East coasters will come to this conclusion if this is the way of the future....


    Thanks for reading along if you're still with me!
     
  2. dean_1492

    dean_1492 High-Roller

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    I totally agree. I do not think I am being "entitled" for putting 1-2K a day though a machine.
     
  3. evoni

    evoni High-Roller

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    I'm sorry that happened to you Janet, it does suck. I give you credit for pursuing it more then I did. I was one of the first to post about these audits a few months ago but at the time only a handful of us were complaining about it on a couple message boards so it didn't make much impact. M-life seems to have staggered the audits and removal of express comps which has worked in their favor in my opinion as those of us it happened to earlier are ticked but resigned and no doubt there are still audits being done and we'll hear from more people in the future months that had removal of express comps.

    In my case they subtracted $400 from my account and said it was for Cirque tickets from last year, though I remember them being subtracted from my express comps at the time I bought the tickets. No way to prove it due to their lack of an accounting system on the customer's end of express comps. :(

    I think what annoys me the most is even if there were legitimate errors and some of us didn't get express comps subtracted X amount of months ago, there was no email to us letting us know why our express comps were removed instead they just did it like they were hoping people didn't track their express comps and would hopefully not notice what they did.

    While I still have express comps with M-Life left I will likely not stay with them as often as in past years or give them the same level of play if I do stay. At the moment Sands and Wynn are giving me better offers and service, though of course they too go through their cycles that can be unfavorable for gamblers as we have seen in the past with Sands.
     
  4. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    The accounting department is happy. They went to the higher ups with all the "money" they recovered.

    Of course, the marketing and VIP group is unhappy because customers are pissed and leaving.

    Idiots.

    As you say, the part that is even worse is they just do it with no explanation. And if you ask, it takes extensive effort to get any answers.
     
  5. JosieCat

    JosieCat VIP Whale

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    One step further. It takes extensive effort to get consistent answers. You can ask 2 different people the same question, and there is a very good chance you will get 2 different answers.

    I never did get a straight answer as to why my tier credits mysteriously went up 43,000 points within a week period a few months ago. I contacted 2 different e-mail addresses and got 2 different answers - although they both said it was in error :) - and the extra tier credits are still there :)

    Which of course, doesn't matter as they will ALL be gone in a few weeks.
     
  6. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    I burn all my ECs before checking out every trip (give or take $30 or so). Not sure if this helps, but I've never lost any.
     
  7. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    yeah, they stole $2k in ECs from my account last month with what they said was incorrect accounting over the past few months. i know that's total BS because i hadn't used any ECs in over a year, so where they came up with $2k that was supposedly miscredited is anybody's guess.

    but talking about how you said they took from a future trip to pay off what they said was overcomping on a past trip, they basically did the same thing to me. last trip to the Beau i was only there one night and had about $500 in F&B charges from dinner and breakfast. they give me $200 F&B upfront per night leaving a balance of $300. in the past that would all be comped off via primary comps since my theo was about $6500 earning me $1755 in primary comps and $845 in ECs.

    well their new policy is to take all extra comps from ECs first, and then primary. but because my EC balance was over $10k, they didn't credit me any of the $845 ECs that i should have earned. ok, well that sucks, but the kicker is that they still took the extra $300 in comps from my ECs, which were ECs i had earned on previous trips. it's one thing to take the ECs i earned on that trip, but totally another thing to raid my ECs that i had earned on previous trips when i had over $1700 in primary comps available from this trip.

    i just let it go because it wasn't worth arguing about $300 in ECs, but it's a lame policy to say the least.

    i think the moral of the story is blow your ECs while you have them because you never know when they just might disappear for whatever reason.

    on a related but positive note, after my trip 2 weekends ago, i used up all my ECs and had about $96 left. well a couple of days later suddenly the balance increased to $1600. and then a few days after that it suddenly increased again to $3100 , which is where it stands now. so i have no idea what's going on, but if the $3100 is still there on my next trip i'm going to blow them quickly before they figure out what happened.
     
  8. y2mulder

    y2mulder Low-Roller

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    Mlife is confusing, and my hatred with them is very well known. I got 75,000 credits 2 years ago, and my offers went straight to hell. Since then, I have just booked a room, used the freeplay, hung up the sign on the door, left early, and no-played them twice.

    AND MY OFFERS ARE GETTING BETTER.

    If this was 50 years ago, they would have to dig a desert grave halfway to China to create a hole big enough to throw all these Mlife clowns in. And I am sure someone will come on this thread, and try and defend this crap. Good for them.
     
  9. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    I won't defend it. But if you're no playing and your offers are getting better, why are you complaining?
     
  10. y2mulder

    y2mulder Low-Roller

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    Not complaining at all. Hell, no-playing them is my favorite hobby now.

    I am just amazed that a bunch of corporate suits have installed a player loyalty program that is this fucked up. At least Sheldon had the balls to come out and say "No more comps". But the stuff these guys are doing is as low as it gets.

    And I think everyone on this message board should know that their money at MGM will be flushed down the toilet forever, and they should expect nothing in return.
     
  11. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    I know MGM thinks it is too early for Dec offers, but to me this is bs. This is at least half the reason why I'm playing less and less at MGM. Maybe I'm just spoiled by CET, but I guess this is competition.
     
  12. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    that's a touch on the melodramatic side and very oversimplified. plenty of people get lots of rewards for their money with MGM. it's obviously different for everyone, so there is no single categorical statement about how you're treated at MGM or CET or any of the other player's clubs. the smart thing is just to go where you're treated best and that's different for everyone.
     
  13. Boogaloo

    Boogaloo Low-Roller

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    I agree - my MO is to charge everything I can to the room, have as much comped off before/during checkout as possible then use ECs for any remainders, and finally use as much of the rest as possible to get a good lunch (I prefer to take evening flights out of vegas).
     
  14. Gandolf One

    Gandolf One Tourist

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    I agree! If you could "track" what happened, I wouldn't feel so frustrated. From the Bellagio host's response, even she couldn't see what they are. I doubt the Aria hosts could either. If it were legitimate, that would be understandable.

    By the way, congrats on your big win, Diana! As always, love your trip reports. I've had offers at Venetian/Pallazzo- if one comes up for December, will definitely try that out. And next trip I'll make it down to Wynn to get on their radar.

    It's sad because I do love Aria and Bellagio; staff is great and it's always fun. It's a shame the "bean counters" don't understand that they are driving away customers....:Þ
     
  15. Gandolf One

    Gandolf One Tourist

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    CET calendar rocks! Too bad MGM doesn't take notice and use them as a template. :rolleyes2:
     
  16. Gandolf One

    Gandolf One Tourist

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    I do feel bad for their staff. Can you imagine the amount of calls/e-mails they must get daily? It's not a great way to operate. A better training and IT dept. would do wonders for them...
     
  17. Gandolf One

    Gandolf One Tourist

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    And from the "level" of play you give them, why the heck would they even want to risk alienating you? Just stupid.

    I guess part of my issue is that I hadn't worked on developing any relationship with an individual host. It sounds like most of the people who do have host relationships are still happy.
     
  18. Gandolf One

    Gandolf One Tourist

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    Another thing that has been bothering me is the reduction of comps to current players but how anyone can earn "freebies" from the new Mlife Facebook game. I'm playing it and you can "theoretically" earn nights in suites, etc.

    Sure, it'd take a lot of time and effort but there are no play requirements, etc.

    Interesting marketing scheme. Mlife cuts comps to current players but is willing to comp unknown quantity of Facebook users. :poke:
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2012
  19. lmondun

    lmondun Low-Roller

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    Maybe not "happy," but definitely less teeth-grindingly unhappy. They swiped about $500 of ECs from my account in July with the same lack of communication/explanation. But my host made up for most of it during my Labor Day trip.

    MGM certainly seems to have a gigantic disconnect right now between its top decision makers/policy setters and the consumer-facing employees.
     
  20. evoni

    evoni High-Roller

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    Glad you liked the trip report Janet, so far it's our favorite trip. ;)

    Regarding M-Life's "My Vegas", I agree it's interesting what they are doing with that and I wonder how long it will last until they raise the points on all prizes. Already they have adjusted the rate you earn those points to a much slower rate. Of course just because a prize is listed doesn't mean it's available once you earn the points to claim it. Already when some have tried to claim low level prizes like free crepes they have learned that prize is sold out for now, while others have been able to claim it. I imagine as more claim free rooms, those will be sold out too unless it's a very slow time of the year for M-Life and they are hoping to get Facebook users in that will spend money on other things and hopefully gamble with them and not a competitor. Also from what I have heard to claim the prizes I believe you do have to take out a player's club card with them if you don't already have one.
     
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