Hello Board, I had a question I couldn't find on the Total Rewards website, and really did not want to wait all day on the phone to speak to a representative.. Anyway my fiance is a Platinum Tier member with about 31,000 in Reward Credits. I read up online that for every 1000 = $10 in credits usable at participating spas,restaurants, and even towards your room,etc etc. My question is how do I redeem this towards my room at check out if my credit card is charged for the full amount at check-in? Will they credit back what was charged? Also if we used all 31,000 Reward Credits would she then lose her Platinum status because our Reward Credits are back at 0? Thanks in advance.
The hotel doesn't typically charge a credit card for the full amount at the beginning of the stay since you may charge to the room and the amount would change. They will put a hold on a certain amount at check in then charge the full amount at check out, which you can go to the players club desk before hand and have them use your reward credits toward your bill or, better yet, have a host look and see if anything more could be taken off. Was this one of those pay in full/non-refundable rates? She won't lose Platinum status as that is controlled by tier score and won't reset until next year.
A couple years ago on a visit to Caesars Palace in Vegas, a friend of mine used her reward credits to pay off her entire room's bill including the deposit she had put on her credit card. They will do it for you if you ask them to. As mentioned above, reward credits are separate from tier credits, so it will not affect Platinum status.
No Vdara took a deposit. But knowing this I might book elsewhere and take advantage of the Credits since I just learned about it... LOL Thank you for the response Thanks for the reply!
Yeah it is, I said I would consider re booking at a Ceasars property after having learned about these Credits.
You almost can't get out of the room hold, especially if you're charging to the room. That just drops out of holding sometime after you check out. However, yes, as stated above, you can use your RCs to pay for room related costs. The only thing to bear in mind is you likely won't earn tier credits paying with those RCs.
what are the benefits of a host? I've always heard about a host but never actually tried using one or knew how.. Does it cost anything?
It's nice to have a host because you can contact them and get them to do all your bookings for you, dinner reservations, reserve show tickets, etc. They'll maximize your offers for you and sometimes they can get a little extra depending on your play. After a bad trip when you lose a lot, they will usually comp you on the "back end" by getting rid of charges to your room. It's a way for the casino to take care of you and make you happy so you will return and play again.
Short of dealing with a host, the easiest way to use RC's to pay is simply to let them know when you check out. Have done this at both Diamond and regular check in/out and it works fine. It is what the Total Rewards boothlings advised. Keep in mind that you can't use RC's to pay for tips. If I am charging to the room, I usually just leave the tip in cash.
I'm not a huge gambler though. I'll gamble maybe 100 or 2 on my trips. Would it still be worth to check with a host? How would I get in contact with one?
I wouldn't bother with it then. At that level of play, they would not be interested in comping you anything extra. Hosts are generally only interested in players who spend a lot on gambling.
Just tell them you want to pay with your credits. They will ask for your card and id. Some CET places though will only give you 1 for 2 credit so watch for those places.
For folks that are not accustomed to hotel upfront charges. Most hotel stays 90% plus do not pay in advance. If you have a pay in advance deal to get a great rate this does not apply. The "hold" they charge when you check in is to cover FUTURE charges. If you eventually pay with another credit card, debit card, cash, comps, etc then that hold will go away. It is not a charge.
Nostresshere is right about the upfront transaction at check-in being a "hold" rather than a charge. I would, however, caution that if you check in using a debit card, cash will be unavailable for the amount of the hold and even if you don't charge anything to the room and settle the bill at check-out using a different method, it may be a week or so before you are able to access the cash that was held on that card. I would advise always using a credit card at check in to avoid potentially having your Vegas bank roll tied up by the hold. Bri