how long are coast tiers good for?

i made sapphire last december and have not been back to vegas yet this year.

when does my status expire? one year from the day i made it? december 31? some weirdo date like march like harrahs?

this is all i can find on their website, does not specify the date i get bumped back down. (that 6 months is for locals, its 12 for non-locals)

SAPPHIRE - 2X Points 24/7
Just earn a Card Score of 30,000 within 6 months and you've made it to Sapphire. At this level you’ll receive a bonus on points, a special upgrade gift once you have reached Sapphire and priority lines. Consider yourself well connected.

1 year for non-locals.
I made Sapphire in April, 2011 and I got a new card, stating expiration on 4/30/2012.
By October, my tier was just under 20,000, and I had a 4-day trip last month, where now my tier is back over 36000.

The tier points will go down, as time goes on, so you'll need more play, at that time, to get the points over 30,000 again.

I did not see any priority lines at the buffets for Sapphire, only Emerald. (At MSS, GC, or Orleans)

thanks!

i always go in december and i was panicked to make it last year because i arrived on december 15 and i knew that the year before, i arrived on december 17 so the points would start dropping two days later.

my account is showing i need 6000 points to make it. i was thinking that perhaps i had accrued the 24,000 after making it last year and your post confirms that.

So what's the point of the tiers? 10% vs 15% off at the gift shop? An extra $1 off room rates?

the best benefit about being sapphire is you get 2x points every day.

Yes, the 2x points helped, being I didn't pay for a meal @ any Coast casino, for the 5 nights I was there.