How is the changes to the Total Rewars program affecting you?

I am a platinum card, and have noticed my comps have gone down. What changes in comps, I.e. free rooms have you noticed if any. Just curious.

I have not noticed too much different but we just got home from 3 nights and I had the hardest time keeping up with my points so I could get the tier match. We like to bounce around a bit and missed 500 on the first night by just a few points because of splitting play between Bally's and Paris and then the second night missed the 1000 point match by "that much"because we played at 5 different properties. I could have kept better track but once the CWs started coming by, my math skills went out the window!! I might either have to concentrate play at one place or write scores down when we move. It seems like playing to maximize the tier match should work to our advantage but no this time...
About the changes in offers because of the new program, if I understand things correctly ADT matters more than tier status so maybe you did not have your usual level of play on your last trip? I know that my offers are going to reflect a lower level of play for me this last trip.

I have projected trips for later in the year to Vegas, NOLA, Tunica, and Cleveland. Using my TR number with that of my wife gives me room rates for rooms that used to be free. Either CET is tightening up considerably and if they are they will lose a lot of my business or the fact that my wife has 35,000 reward credits is causing the charges as CET wants her to use up the credits before giving free rooms. I wish I knew the cause of the high rates. If it is the reward credits we could use them up in one trip to Horseshoe SI or Cincinnati. We were saving them for nice steak dinners during our travels but if we are paying a lot more for lodging, not using the credits for other things would be counterproductive. Any thoughts anyone? We are both at the lowest level I think that is Gold but we have never had a problem getting free rooms on the CET website in the past.

Now that I think about it, I am not seeing as good a rates (comps) for the other props either, so maybe they are only really comping in our usual markets? The main one I worry about is NOLA, which has not shown comps since last year, despite alot of play in 2011. Might be because of the new "Diamond Aspiration" trip, which is an out of market trip each year for the higher Diamonds. That trip would not mean much if they were just giving it away to all the tiers. The various markets around the country are what keep me with CET so I sure hope this is not the case.

When I ran NOLA for Oct 15-18 with my wife's TR number I got $129 per night with Biloxi at $89. When I ran it with my brother-in-law's number (he is even lower level than we are) I got $59 per night with Biloxi still at $89. I do not mind paying $59 to stay at Harrahs NOLA but these numbers give me pause in regard to my wife's high reward credit balance. My experience with comps at NOLA is the same as eholmes. Last May my wife and son went on a cruise from NOLA and I stayed in a condo for a week with large video poker play each day. I received free play and free room offers from Harrahs NOLA for about six months but those have stopped this year. I thought it might be the lack of a return trip but if eholmes is experiencing the same thing it might be a change in policy leading to a tightening of everything from comps to early check-in fees.

My wife and I have TR Gold cards and have no problem getting comped rooms.( We play penney and nickel slots) We were in Vegas in late March and had 4 comped nights at Bally's. During that trip we ate at several CET restaurants and charged the meals to our room. That might make a difference cause we just received an offer for 5 free nights at Bally's and we are going back in June. We make sure that we enter both our card numbers when we check out rates, cause it makes a big difference on the number of comped nights you get.

fireteamleader's comment makes me even more certain that until my wife uses up her reward credits we will not get good deals on rooms.

I haven't noticed any difference.

Regarding NOLA, keep trying. Clear the cookies and keep trying. Last year, I booked my first trip to NOLA and NOTHING was showing comped, even the partner hotels. One Tuesday afternoon, I decided to try one more time before calling and asking <insert begging> for a comped room. Whola, the 4 weeknights I wanted came up comped and I booked the trip. A few weeks later, Delta ran a sale on airfare.

I doubt having a high reward credit balance is the reason as I had a high reward credit last year. I think it has more to do with supply and demand, conventions, cruises, local festivals, people willing to pay for rooms. I forget the group, probably half the people on my flight to NOLA were going to some convention.

I have not noticed any difference. I have approximately 170,000 points and never had a problem getting any night I want comped and all meals comped as well. I just went to Harrahs for 1 weekend and have 12,000 tier already using the new system. Works for me but do not care what level diamond I am per new system. Will not try to spend or get more points than my normal play.

After years of being Diamond, this year I dropped to Platinum because many people on this board recommended that one person Diamond, and the other person Gold or Platinum, was the way to go.

My offers dropped like a rock. The only way I could book a room for our recent trip was to use that generic offer that came when they mailed my new Platinum card.

But when I arrived at the hotel, they gave me (us) an executive suite with double doors, living room with TV and stereo, 6-seat marble dining table, wet bar, king bedroom, 12-person shower, at least two, maybe three person bathtub, 3 toilets, bidet, ............. and a sauna. Tons of marble everywhere. Next to the top floor.

Who knew? I'd rather have my old offers back.

- bcc