More Flexibility in Total Rewards Benefits

There is actually some discussion among Seven Stars members that Caesar's should make the program more flexible, and allow freeplay in lieu of benefits not taken.

For example, many people don't like traveling (or are unable to do so), so the Seven Stars Annual Trip goes to waste. Others don't have a desire to go to the destinations where Caesar's properties are located. Again, it goes to waste. It's annoying to let this benefit go to waste, as you get $500 in food credits and up to $1200 worth of airfare. (The free hotel nights don't matter because you get them anyway.) Indeed, these are real costs to Caesar's. They have to pay almost full value to the airline, and the food, while much cheaper than $500 for them, still costs real money. This is different than giving free hotel rooms or seats at a concert, where it can be rationalized that they are simply filling unsold inventory at virtually zero real cost.

Some people have suggested that they let you take some form of freeplay, even if reduced, in lieu of the trip. So it could be something like "You get $500 food and up to $1200 in airfare, or you can take $800 in freeplay at your home casino."

Same goes for the annual meal. I haven't used mine yet because most of my visits to Vegas restaurants involve me, my girlfriend, and my young son. Even at an expensive place like Nobu, we can't spend $500 unless we order some really expensive wine. Last year I waited until December 31 when my parents were in town, and I brought them to the dinner, in order to spend all the money. However, this year I just haven't had the chance to do something like that. None of my friends or family ever seem to be in Vegas when I can go to one of these dinners. If I can't make this happen, I'll have to just do the Nobu thing and try to spend as much as possible.

Again, it has been suggested that they allow you to take some form of reduced freeplay in lieu of the $500 meal. Or turn the $500 meal into $250, and give some freeplay along with it.

I understand why they don't allow you to exchange anything for the annual cruise, because Norwegian is giving that to Caesar's for free as part of a partnership agreement. Basically Norwegian is willing to give up one balcony stateroom in exchange for getting a high stakes gambler on board. They only allow one of these because it allows Norwegian to "try out" a Seven Stars member, and only invite him back for free if he gambles. If he doesn't, then he only gets to come back free once per year as part of their marketing agreement with Caesar's (unless he grabs one of those certificates they hand out like candy, but then he only gets an inside cabin with blackout dates.)

Also, the "Signature Events" should again be able to be exchanged for some form of freeplay. None of them really appealed to me this year. I ended up going to the shopping one, and going to the overpriced Tommy Bahama. My girlfriend isn't really a high-end-designer-brand shopper, so she didn't want it. She used my last one to buy an expensive purse, but she doesn't need a second one.

Anyway, I think Caesar's would have a lot more happy customers if they provided more flexibility.

I was going to give up on the cruise for the second year in a row, due to the lack of airfare coverage by Caesar's. The cruises from California basically suck and aren't worth my time. I found a way to "double dip" by making my cruise from the same place as my annual trip -- New Orleans, so I'm doing it. One other nice thing about New Orleans is that they put $500 in RCs in your account instead of a $500 dining credit, so you can just bank the RCs and eat at one of the many interesting restaurants around the city.

This was brought up in another thread (the original post is copied above), and I started this thread to focus on this subject. The original post came from member Dan Druff:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

There is actually some discussion among Seven Stars members that Caesar's should make the program more flexible, and allow freeplay in lieu of benefits not taken.

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This is something I want. I just qualified for the Level IV Signature Experience and I don't want any of these things. I asked my host if something could be substituted and the answer was "no." So if there is a campaign to push for substitutions you can count me in. I will gladly join the campaign.

I have no interest in traveling to these cities for these events, or in the case of the local event I don't see the point in going to Vegas to hop on a plane to come back to LA to go to a Dodger's or Angel's game, and then fly back to Vegas.


LEVEL IV: 700,000 - 1,499,999 Tier Credits

Atlantic City Chef Table Dining Experience
VIP chef's table seating for 10 at one of our gourmet restaurants with a designated wait staff and personalized menus, private demonstration by one of our chefs and specially selected wine gift. Includes two nights in up to five rooms at one of our Atlantic City hotels and round-trip airport limo service.

LA Baseball Experience
Two tickets for VIP access and suite seating at an LA pro baseball game, plus round-trip airfare from Las Vegas to Burbank, round-trip airport limo service, three nights in a VIP Suite at Paris Las Vegas and a $200 dining credit at Gordon Ramsay Steak

Luxury Cruise Experience
Enjoy luxurious accommodations in a penthouse stateroom on one of the Norwegian Cruise Line® ships with complimentary butler and concierge service. Choose form the following itineraries: Alaska, Europe, Bermuda, Caribbean and the Bahamas. Guests are responsible for transportation to the port, government taxes and fees and gratuities. Black-out dates and some restrictions apply. Please call866-444-4223 to book your Norwegian Cruise Line Level IV Signature Cruise. Offer is good for up to a SE category (penthouse) stateroom, based on availability. This package is only available until March 31, 2014. Space is limited so please reserve at least 30 days prior to travel date.

Kansas City Sporting Event
Up to four premium tickets to a Kansas City sporting experience of your choice with personalized sports merchandise, plus private transportation to and from the airport and event, a four-night stay in up to two suites, up to $1,500 in airfare and $600 dining and beverage credit.

New Orleans Signature Sport Experience
Two regular-season suite tickets for a New Orleans pro football game or two midweek courtside seats for a New Orleans professional basketball game, limo transportation to and from the event, a two-night suite stay, up to $300 airfare credit and a $150 dining credit for the best seat in the house in an End Zone Recliner at Manning's Restaurant.

Golf Package at Edgewood Tahoe for four
Four rounds of golf at Edgewood Golf Course and a $250 golf shop gift card, plus three night of Butler Serve at the Lake Tahoe Summit Suites, a $500 dining credit to Friday's Station Steak & Seafood Grill, a private booth with bottle service for up to five people at PEEK Nightclub and round-trip airport limo service.

At least with the LA baseball thing, you can maybe Stubhub the seats and just use the Vegas thing. Heck if you did it now you could get the much more expensive playoff tickets. They would probably try to back out of that part but you would have the 3 nights at Paris and the GR Steak dinner. Well it's 200 dollars so maybe half dinner.

But yeah you figure they could just give you something comparable that is an all Vegas thing. It would probably be cheaper on their end as well. Maybe that is why they are 20 billion in the hole.

You know all CET casinos are different. At our local in Shreveport/Bossier City, we met a lady that had over 1 million tier credits last year (local VP player) and she said that she does not fly and does like to travel so they gave her $1200 free play in lieu of her 7 star trip.

I definitely agree with you on the level experiences. Lots of those you get invitations to anyway- and the higher level- it is not worth it unless you get free airfare too for you and your friends.

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Originally Posted by sassycat

they gave her $1200 free play in lieu of her 7 star trip.

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Do you know who actually authorized this?

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

Do you know who actually authorized this?

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She said her host arranged it. For several years, she didn't take the getaway but asked if she could get the money instead last year and they did it for her. It may have just been something the host did for her since she plays there so much. All of her 1 million points were made locally.

Thanks sassycat. My guess is that for anyone playing enough to get one million tier points, a host could easily arrange an extra $1200 of free play.

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

Thanks sassycat. My guess is that for anyone playing enough to get one million tier points, a host could easily arrange an extra $1200 of free play.

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Yes and no.

You are correct that this exception was made because this woman was a high volume player. It is indeed unlikely that most Seven Stars members could get their host to do the same.

However, I don't think that a million-tier-Seven-Star could typically get $1200 freeplay for no reason. As you have seen, Alan, you have about 700,000 tiers, and they have gotten fairly tight with you lately.

I believe this exception was made for a few reasons:

1) This woman was entitled to $1200 in real airline expenditures (which the casino does NOT get at a discount)

2) This woman did not use this $1200 benefit (or the $500 food associated with it) for a few years in a row

3) This woman was a high-volume player for several years, racking up 1 million this year

4) (Most important) The casino could justify doing this for her, since they were basically "trading" the $1200 they'd otherwise spend on airline tickets for $1200 in freeplay.

So if #4 is true, why don't they do this for everyone?

Because they want to force you to travel to one of their properties, hoping that they will make back the airfare they spent (and the food you get) in expected losses. This is better for them than simply giving $1200 in freeplay, where some people will just play it and go home, and others will simply substitute it for $1200 cash they would have used to gamble anyway.

"But wait", you say! "If they have freeplay, wouldn't they ALSO have to be in a casino to use it? So what's the difference?"

The difference is that you might spend only a very short time at your home casino, whereas you are a captive audience at a casino far away. That's what they want. They'd much prefer you are "stuck" at a casino in a faraway state, rather than having the option to simply drive home when you want from a casino you visit all the time in your local or semi-local area.

This isn't too different from the Seven Stars cruise, where Norwegian is giving you a free balcony room because they are hoping you will play in their casino.

They did the "trade" for this woman as a favor, figuring that she already saved them a lot on airfare by not taking the trip several years in a row, and it was worth making this trade to make her happy. Indeed, at a million tier points, they knew that they didn't have to send her off to faraway hotels in order to ensure regular high-stakes gaming.

Still, Caesar's is pretty hard-line about this one, and I would be surprised if this was done for anyone but their best customers.

Alan, with 691k in tiers, you might want to give it a shot.

Also, as has already been pointed out, perhaps her local casino was more flexible than the local casinos in California and Nevada.

I have found that Vegas casinos are the least flexible, as they have so many high-level players that you are always somewhat small potatoes to them.

With that said, I stick to my original assertion.

Caesar's should stop trying to force people to do everything on their terms, and always give options for those that don't find their "events" and "promotions" too exciting.

The annual trip just isn't too appealing to a lot of people, because most of the Caesar's locations aren't in very exciting places (aside from Vegas, if you're from the other side of the country). Last year I went to Atlantic City simply because I used it as a starting point for an east coast driving trip. There's no way I would have wanted to fly across the country just to visit Atlantic City when Vegas is right here.

There should ALWAYS be freeplay options (even at lesser value) that can be used in lieu of these promos and events.

Well, Dan, my tier score as of this morning is now at 733003 -- and for the life of me I can't figure out where so many extra tier points came from. Yes, I had that nice run the other night but it should have added about 11,000 tier points and it appears I somehow got about 20,000 extra. There were no "tier point multipliers" that would account for this. And now I am wondering if when you reach certain "tiers" if there is some automatic multiplier applied to tier point earnings?

But getting back to the topic: I have various "7 Stars Experiences" to use now which, to be honest, are not appealing to me.

I still have a $500 Forum Shops gift certificate that I must use by mid-December which won't be a problem. I will most likely use it when I go to the Great Gift Wrap up. That is the Level II experience.

For Level III there is the $500 dining credit at the Ramsay restaurants. I guess I could use that between now and the end of March 2014 but frankly it's not at the top of my list of things to do and places to go.

And now I am eligible for Level IV which includes the LA baseball game and the other things I wrote about above.

To be honest, I would gladly do a swap for free play or even for a gift certificate to Caesars gift shops where at least I could pick up some clothing or other useful gift items including small electronics despite their inflated items. I am going to call my host and ask.

Oh, there is also the "annual trip" which I could actually use by going to Caesars with a $500 dining credit. Actually I get 2 of those -- one is the basic 7 Stars annual trip and the other is the Level I benefit. And then there is the annual dinner. My my, they really want to feed me...and I am a "little guy" and would rather have free play and pay for my own dinner which probably would cost well under $100.

Keep hitting them up Alan. Caesars doesn't seem to ever mind if you win tens of thousands or not. You don't seem to ever use any of their free airfare offers you get online, so maybe you could talk someone into giving you some free play out of that.

The lady who got the $1200 free play in lieu of the 7* trip--there's no policy or rule surrounding something like that. It's all up to the person you ask and how you ask them, and then it's all up to how their day's going at that point in time, if their home life's going well, or if they have an illness or other personal challenge to deal with.

I just put a call in to my host at Caesars: I have two $500 dining credits plus two $1200 airfare credits for the Level I and Level II 7Stars experiences that I would never use. I certainly am not flying. I am going to ask for "something else" and I will let you know what I get.

As far as the other 7 Star experiences, I will ask about them too.

Oh by the way, here is something dumb.

Caesar's will NOT let you use your second airfare ticket for someone under 21!

So if you want to take your child who isn't 21 yet, you're out of luck, unless you want to pay for it yourself!

I found this out the hard way when I tried to use my annual trip for me and my 2-year-old son.

Seems to be several casinos that openly announce that if you show them a Seven Stars cards, they will match the tier for a certain amount of time with no play required. Maybe you can try this at some of the Socal casinos to see if they bite if you keep getting offers cut down and packages you can't/won't use. The worst they can say is no so seems like at least worth the call to check it out.

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Originally Posted by Perdition

Seems to be several casinos that openly announce that if you show them a Seven Stars cards, they will match the tier for a certain amount of time with no play required.

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I don't understand?? What could you possibly hope for from another casino? The 7Stars card really has only one benefit -- you have a separate line for restaurants and the cage and for checking in and checking out.

More freeplay, more offers and benefits? You said you weren't happy with the offers you were getting so maybe try out other places and see how generous they are at the top level and see if it is worth it to go there more or stick with CET.

Well, Rewards and benefits are important. But, if they are to be an incentive, it need to appreciate their full scope, understand their value and choose the package that suits them best. Just sharing :)