We asked Harrah’s and didn’t get any answer. However, Bill’s (the former Barbary Coast) is described as "A Non-Total Rewards casino partner" of Harrah’s. As you noted, it has its own loyalty program, the Bill’s Players Club (11,000 points gets you Diamond status). Participants can use their Bill’s card at any Total Rewards-participating casino in Las Vegas.
As of April 1, that will include Planet Hollywood. Carriers of Planet Ho’s A-List card will be eligible to trade that in for a Total Rewards card. However, until the Total Rewards and A-List databases are merged, any A-List points accrued can only be spent at the Planet, not at any other Harrah’s property. Harrah’s promises a 1:1 conversion of A-List points into Total Rewards ones.
Reward credits can’t be used for Planet slot play yet (in a handout, techo-savvy Harrah’s confesses "we do not have the capability") but they can be applied towards room nights, meals, show tickets, etc. And although Harrah’s liquidates Reward Credit accruals if you don’t earn any points for six months, A-List members have a full year to start racking up Reward Credits before their point accrual is in danger.
As for the Bill’s coupons, it’s difficult to believe Bill’s needs the help. As of Feb. 26, it was the 13th-highest rated Las Vegas hotel on TripAdvisor.com. Says one reader of our Stiffs & Georges blog, "It blows away all the other Harrah properties on the strip Trip ratings-wise. It almost has me convinced to give them a try when I take my son to Vegas in December for his 21st birthday. A co-worker is giving Bill’s a shot in May." Writes another, "Bill’s has a loyal following and the [word of mouth] is strong. Plus, most of the rooms were remodeled by Boyd before the sale."
Harrah’s may be tracking coupon redemptions at Bill’s to see if there’s a sufficiently high volume of them to justify full integration of Bill’s into Total Rewards. When the casino was purchased, a few years ago, it seemed destined for a date with the wrecking ball Given that, since then, Harrah’s has gone deeply in debt, has just acquired Planet Hollywood and is making preliminary moves on the Palms, Bill’s is probably going to be around for quite a few years yet.
