Harrah's Total Reward question.

Does anyone know if I use a comp night at a harrah's hotel but I don't use my Total Reward Card when I gamble there, will it effect my future offers? Will it mess up my play level or whatever it's called. I'm not planning on gambling too much and would rather not use my card. I usually play about 800-1000 base points per day. Thanks for any help.

If you book a free room using your Total Rewards card then your card is considered "in play" either way. You might as well earn some points on it because Harrah's will be holding it against you.

I've always been told there is a real disconnect between the marketing department and the casino end. Many people will not use their cards at all during a stay if they are not gambling heavily, or will give one heavy day during a four day trip.

well i had heard that the hotel and casino are not linked when it comes to rating play, but i'm not sure.

Without going into a lot of detail, let me just say that has been my experiance. However, Harrahs TR is a constantly evolving program so what has been true doesn't mean it will be true in the future, and vice versa.

I have found that a light amt of play w/ a brief one night stay, and using my card, did not affect my future offers. Of course, I had stays after that w/higher play that made up for it. I did notice better offers, like CP comp stays, after slightly increased play even though I did not reach higher tier level (almost made Platinum again last year after a hiatus but was a few hundred shy that an illness/cancelled trip prevented me from making up.)

From what I understand, it doesnt matter anymore if you have "light days" of gambling with Harrahs. Once you attain a certain "tier score" youre in at that level. If Diamonds get X-number of free nights a year youll continue to get those free nights for while youre a diamond.

But why wouldnt you use your card even for small play? Each play gives you additional tier points, comps, etc so why not get them?

In the "old days" when average play was the norm for setting comps, you didnt want to bring down your average when a host looked at your play to determine comps and offers. But in the computerized systems that Harrahs (Caesars) has now I dont think it makes a difference if you have a few "light days" as long as you have attained a certain tier level.

But if your average theoretical loss is low, you can still be Diamond and your X number of free nights might be a regular room at the Flamingo. If you get a Diamond card by going to your local casino twice a week and putting 150 tier or so on your card playing full pay VP, you are not going to get 5 nights comped at Caesars Augustus Tower

I'm cheap and only play blackjack, so nobody gives me nothin'! (except room offers from El Cortez...lol)

However, my parents, gambling away my siblings and my potential inheritance , are Diamond members at Harrahs and have been for years. I know my dad has made several comments about "gotta go play some to get my Diamond level" as the year winds down. He seems to know how much he needs to play/get in order to make that next level. (just like me with my Choice Awards card for free hotel stays)

They get lots of free room offers but the bennie my dad likes the most is the "secret" room they have for Diamond level people. (at least at some of the Harrah's, don't know if they all have one) There are always free munchies and free drinks available...and let me tell you, the drinks are NOT watered down as they often are on the floor. DonDiego and I have been to "the room" several times with them as guests, and after a couple of strong Long Island's DonDiego needs to help me walk a straight line to our room! lol.

In response to your question, based on what my dad has said, I think if you are a Diamond you get Diamond offers for the entire year and then everything resets in January and you have to 'earn' your Diamond status again the next year. If that is the case, then not using the card should not hurt your offers for the current year. I know my parents get offers all year long even when they haven't been gambling for a while.

Anyway, I agree with everyone else, Ledhead. Use your card everytime you do any gambling. It doesn't hurt and it may help so, what the hey!

Another thing to check is how each casino deals with duplicate cards vs 'couple cards'. For instance, some casinos don't allow the same card to be played in different places at the same time and some do. Some casinos put a married couple's account as a group for benefits, but some casinos keep everything separate. If I get 500 pts and DonDiego gets 500 pts...we'd get better offers if that is grouped as 1000 pts. So we always try to do that if possible. Maybe someone else in your party could have a duplicate card and get pts for you if they don't care about pts for themselves.

At any rate, enjoy your Vegas trip.

As far as using your card a minimal amount goes, it does reduce your average and it does affect your comps. Not so much in free rooms, but much more so in free play and free food coupons. At one time I was getting 30 bucks a week in free play and 100 bucks a month in free food. I got a room for my dad one night and therefore my card wasn't used much and my free play dropped to 5 bucks for the month and the food went to zero for the month. I have since stayed several times and racked up considerable points and a decent average. I am only back up to 5 bucks a week free play and still zero in food coupons.