are platinum points taken away for comps?

We have Harrahs platinum card with thousands and thousands of points.....we have comped rooms, but have never charged meals to our room, or asked for comped meals cuz my husband thinks they will reduce our platinum points or status or whatever he keeps up.....are we foolish.....we do spend a lot of money when we go every year as well as visit Harrahs other properties and he never presents our cards in fear of losing his points. when I asked him why he says that they will take away 3 to 4 times the value of the meals in points from him....is he right? I always thought comps were saying thank you for playing here and that was that......who is right?

 

Plat/Gold/Diamond points are TIER points. The ONLY time they go away is on January 1st each year.

Total Rewards credits that you can spend for good, drinks, shows etc should be spent. You may be getting comped rooms, etc today, but next time they may use them for meals, rooms, etc. But, they NEVER expire, unless you have ZERO activity in 6 months.

 

The previous poster is absolutely right. We have a nearby Harrahs and are are Diamond. Your tier points aren't used for anything other then determining your tier status. They aren't used to pay for things. Only your Reward Credits are used for that. Your tier points reset each year. Tell your husband he is wrong.

We always use all of our Reward Credits for anything that isn't comped upfront (or paid for with mail offers) like some meals. They are just like cash so might as well use them to pay for things you would otherwise pay cash for. Is there any rational reason to hold on to them? And like the previous poster said -- if something happens and you can't visit a CET property for 6 months you will just lose those Reward Credits anyway.

 

tier points reset each year.....really. We are platinum right now and what happens on Jan 1st? We are going to Vegas in Feb and are we losing our platinum before that?
I need to understand the diff in these before I have a conversation with him, cuz if I am not informed he will just ignore me....

What status will we change to on Jan 1st?

And if we spend our rewards points for meals that will not effect his tier then?

 

Yes you will lose your tier points on January 1st. Your status for next year will depend on how many tier points you earned in 2012. If you earned at least 4,000 in 2012 then you will still be Platinum next year as well.

No, spending your reward credits has no effect on your tier. Your reward credits are just like cash. Your tier credits determine your tier but can't be spent for anything. Your reward credits can be spent on things but don't determine your tier. Best to just use up your reward credits for anything you would spend cash on anyway -- at least in my opinion. I see no logic at all in spending cash out of pocket on things that you can pay for with reward credits.

 

If you have earned enough points this year to be platinum now, you will be platinum through March 31, 2014. Your point earnings next year by December 31, 2013 will determine your status through March 31, 2015.

In terms of using the rewards credits, my theory is that having too many on the books can hurt your offers. The reason is that reward credits are a liability to CET, and they want you to use them (or lose them). When I had a lot of credits on my account from the sweepstakes earlier this year I felt my offers suffered. Of course this is just a theory. The bottom line is use them before you use your cash.

 

GES - Have you created online log-in ID's for your accounts or do you get the monthly e-mail showing your points?

If so, you should be able to easily see the Tier Credits and the Rewards Credits.

Example - I currently have 8885 TC's for this year. On 1/1 I will have 0. However I will have Platinum guaranteed through March 2014. If you did not earn 4000 TC's this year on either account that account will lose Platinum in March & revert to Gold. (I think it goes to 5000 next year).

I currently have 105900 Rewards Credits (due to credit card - which is going away, game in spring & great race this summer) which equates to $1059.00. Those will NOT disappear on 1/1 - they remain for 6 months after any activity occurs.

I would be totally & completely silly to NOT use that $1059 on food, beverages, room charges etc. It will NOT affect my tier score earnings- those are determined by my play level. In fact I used about $250 in November on my trip and probably around $200 in September. I really paid for no food - only tips. Why should I pay for those out of pocket?

Find out for sure what you both have on your accounts - call in if you have to. Each RC is worth one cent (see my calculations on mine above). There is NO reason not to use those for food etc. If you are getting close to a 6 month date you may want to shop thru their total rewards marketplace on the website to earn some points by buying at a retailer you would anyway so you can extend the expiration date.

I have sat next to people who have had literally $4000 worth of comps on their card. I always wonder if they just play all the time or seriously have no idea that they are able to get something from them. (These guys were playing $1 a pull on pennies so not super high rollers).

 

I'm also not sure what he is talking about with losing 3 to 4 times at other props. He should be presenting his card anywhere he is playing unless he is 'low-playing' as that might decrease the daily average.

Only thing he might be thinking of is that SOME food venues in other locations (such as Atlantic City) do require a 2 to 1 redemption for points. Example - we went to the snack place for breakfast our last morning at Harrah's AC & we had to spend $20 worth of points (2000 Rewards Credits) to get $10 worth of food. However, their buffet & a few other restaurants were 1/1. HOWEVER this did NOT affect our Tier Credits, card status or anything along those lines.

Hope all this makes sense. If you have more questions please ask.

 

thank you all , I can now have a good conversation about using them for food, with this info.

 

If he has some specific questions, please feel free to come back & let us know!

 

RC Value

We just returned from Horseshoe Shreveport and realized all of my reward credits (5450) were used to comp about $120 in meals that were charged to my room.

This does not seem right. What is the value of these credits?

TIA

 

The credits are the same as pennies. Just throw in a decimal point 2 places to the left and you got your $ value figured out. So 5450 RC's = $54.50 to use towards food, beverage, lodging, gift shop purchases, etc etc etc.

 

Seems to me they took $54.50 from your earned reward credits and waived the rest, this is not uncommon if you played enough with them. I do the same thing, I charge what I can to my room and ask if they, or a host, can pick up the rest.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Just wasn't sure the value

 

update on our comp$$$ argument

ok....had the conversation with hubby and we are diamond at CET and if you didn't read the previous post....we have never used our points cuz he always claimed it costs way way more for items.
So here was the last installment of his thinking:
He was looking at what I call PRIZES that you turn your point in for like cameras that cost $ 100 locally but with points you have to give them 34,000. which he says is a $340 value.....on this I agree....bad deal. But he also believes that if we use them in Vegas for a buffet it is the same.....a $30 buffet will cost us like $120 in points......SO my question now is that true? Or is a $30 buffet 3000 points like I believe it is.....PLEASE say I am right.....would love to win this one....

 

You are correct.. if it says $30 it is 3000 reward credits

 

You are right. A $30 buffet will cost 3000 pts. The merchandise available in the Total Reward Catalog is usually priced at twice the retail cost. So for something that would cost $100 in a store, you'll probably need to spend at least 20,000 pts. Also, in answer to your other thread...you can charge things to your room but they'll subtract any existing rewards credits to pay for your bill if you ask a host to pick up the charges. Once you run out of rewards credits, hosts have a discretionary comp fund for your account that they can tap into...but reward credits are always used first.

 

thank you thank you
I am sooooo glad to hear that very penny of the dinner is exactly the points we would use......love to know that dollar for dollar is real.
I have finally won an argument.

 

Nobody ever wins an argument!

Especially is you are married.

 

ok ok...then there score is no longer 3-0 on this one.....I am on the board with a point !!!!