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Thread: 2014 Great Gift Wrap Up -- the marketing has started

  1. #1
    Probably the best "bonus" that Caesars Total Rewards offers is the Great Gift Wrap Up. Your play during the year gives you "extra points" for the year-end gift giveaway in Vegas and the points used to "purchase" items or free play or gift cards do not come out of your other "comp points."

    And now, just two weeks after the 2013 Great Gift Wrap Up ended, the marketing and promotion of the 2014 GGWU has started.

    In the mail today came a Total Rewards mailer for GGWU "bonus events" which give you extra GGWU if you show up at the casino -- and even more bonus points if you play certain levels.

    My basic rule is never play for comps, and that is essentially what these "bonus events" are -- a chance to play for comps -- so be sure you take note of that.

    The mailer that I got today says that if I show up for a stay at the Vegas Total Rewards casinos I will immediately get a bonus of 140,000 GGWU points. So the first thing I did was figure the value of that "bonus." And, 140,000 GGWU points is the equivalent of about $460 worth of Shell gas cards or $460 of free play based on the exchange rates in the 2013 GGWU event.

    That on its own tells me this is not worth it. A $460 promotion is not enough to get me to make the trip to Vegas, especially since I can't "cash in" the bonus until November or December of 2014 and there is no guarantee I will be able to attend the 2014 GGWU event. While I would hope to go anything could happen during the next year, and frankly, a lot of people at my age don't buy green bananas anymore.

    The mailer also says that I get extra GGWU points for certain levels of play. If I earn 13,500 tier credits I will get an additional 46,500 points. And 46,500 points is the equivalent of $150 in gas cards or free play. If there are no changes in the Total Rewards system in 2014 it would be possible to get those 13,500 tier points "on a budget" over two days, and here's how:

    If I play each day for two days and earn 2,500 tier points I would get the 5,000 tier point bonus for each day. In video poker, except on certain full pay games at certain casinos, my coin in would have to be $25,000 to earn 2,500 points. And playing 8/5 Bonus (available at Rio) my theoretical loss would be $200. That would be 1,000 hands at $5 Bonus Video Poker and it would take a certain amount of luck.

    However, a theoretical loss of $200 on video poker to get an extra $150 of gas cards doesn't make sense, does it? The loss is 33% more than the value of the GGWU points.

    And the mailer says if I earn 20,500 tier credits during my stay I would get an extra 140,000 GGWU points. That would mean $205,000 of coin in, at 8/5 Bonus poker the loss would be $1,640 to get an additional $460 of GGWU value which means high rollers are getting screwed by a bigger percentage. For the high rollers the loss is almost four times what the extra GGWU points are worth.

    There will be five of these GGWU Bonus Events in 2014 and that will mean more GGWU for showing up, plus -- according to the mailer -- If I earn 5,000 tier credits per trip there are more bonus GGWU that will be added at a rate of 25,000 additional points per "bonus event."

    But keep in mind that the GGWU points earned with play are in addition to other comps that you might earn and there is the chance you might win when gambling, so the GGWU Bonus Events should not be immediately dismissed.
    Last edited by Alan Mendelson; 12-18-2013 at 10:11 PM. Reason: typos fixed

  2. #2
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    I had so much fun at the recent one, I would love to get a running start on the next one! Because if I am going to play it would be nice to combine offers. However I have not gotten any Booster Event Mailers yet..... so I emailed Total Rewards.... I am also going to stay at Rincon for New Years ... so I will also go to the desk to make sure I get the updates. ( I have had a problem in the past, my host sends a lot of stuff but TR is lagging).

    Just got all my Gift Cards today in time for Christmas THANK YOU CEASERS ET!

    Cabellas sent a really nice green Christmas Envelope ( gift giving style)..When you open it, it has a card with instructions to redeem for any recipient and a nice pull out on the bottom where the gift card is...I will try to take a picture and post. They did a REALLY nice job of sending out their cards pre-packaged for gift giving and I want to write to Ceasers and Cabellas thanking both of them for that, as those were gifts.

    The other cards, although fantastic to receive were just glued to the standard form letter.

    It was really nice to see Cabella's set up (www.cabellas.com) .

    Anyway Alan, I see a lot of your points in your post also.

    At the same time, the GGWU is AMAZING! LOVIN IT!

    best, e.
    Last edited by LizzyM; 12-21-2013 at 04:06 AM.

  3. #3
    Originally Posted by LizzyM View Post
    Anyway Alan, I see a lot of your points in your post also. At the same time, the GGWU is AMAZING! LOVIN IT!
    If you get the GGWU points as part of your normal play and normal trips then its a great, additional bonus from Caesars. But if you alter your schedule, or go to these events and forego better offers such as the free play offers that might actually be worth more -- then you could be ripping yourself off.

    Let me give you example, Within a couple of weeks of the GGWU bonus event I also have a free play offer for $1,000 or a gift card (that I could use). Clearly that $1000 free play or gift card is worth more than the "bonus" at the GGWU event which is worth about $460.

    Now if you can go to both -- great. I can't. So I have to "choose wisely" (to quote a line of dialogue from a famous movie script.)

  4. #4
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    Hi Alan,

    I wonder if you have heard anything more about the 2014 GGWU, promotional dates what dates it will be at Ceaser's this year for planning purposes ...or is it always the same dates? And also is this a "new" Tier Credit Bonus : (Please see below). Thank you! Happy New Year e.

    http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/20...ints+Available

    __________________________________________________ ______________________

    Last year at this time, Caesars Entertainment confirmed some major changes to its Total Rewards players club. Nobody was particularly happy with the largest players club in America. At the same time, people rolled with the punches as benefits continue to decrease at all players clubs. While the changes required more points to reach higher tier levels, they also brought bonus credits:

    *Earn 500 Tier Credits in one day and receive an additional 125 Tier Credit bonus
    *Earn 1,000 Tier Credits in one day and receive an additional 1,000 Tier Credit bonus
    *Earn 2,500 Tier Credits in one day and receive an additional 5,000 Tier Credit bonus

    Never content to go an entire year without changing its players club, Caesars Entertainment decided to add to the bonuses you can earn this year:

    *Earn 5,000 Tier Credits in one day and receive an additional 10,000 Tier Credit bonus

    In addition, Caesars Entertainment brought the once “secret” Diamond In A Day public. Earning 5,000 Tier Credits in one day will give you immediate Diamond status. You can still earn Platinum status in one day by earning 2,500 points in one day.

    Earning credits hasn’t changed so you’ll still be playing under the same rules and bonuses will cost the same amount as they would in the past.

    Slot Machines: 1 Reward Credit per $5 played
    Video Poker: 1 Reward Credit per $10 played
    Shopping, Dining, Hotel, Leisure: 1 Reward Credit per $5 spent
    Table Games: “Reward Credits are earned based on the type of table game you are playing, your average bet and how long you play.”

    Diamond In A Day and Platinum In A Day will cost a pretty penny so these awards aren't for just anyone.

  5. #5
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    Dear Alan,

    Here is an email sent by CET to another player. How would you play with this new TC Bonus? The same as 22 days @ 2500 Tiers or a different way? Thank you! e.

    Originally Posted by LarryG View Post
    TIER CREDIT BONUS IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE NEW YEAR



    Dear LarryG,

    I am very excited to announce that this year we are adding another enhancement to Total Rewards® with an additional daily Tier Credit bonus!


    Daily Tier Credit Bonuses1

    You will continue to earn Tier Credit Bonuses in 2014. And starting January 1, 2014, you’ll have another bonus to achieve. Simply earn a certain number of Tier Credits in one day and voila ... a bonus!


    Earn this many... ...and get this many more!
    500 Tier Credits +125 Tier Credit bonus

    1,000 Tier Credits
    +1,000 Tier Credit bonus
    2,500 Tier Credits
    +5,000 Tier Credit bonus
    Earns Platinum Status in one day!
    New! for 2014
    5,000 Tier Credits

    +10,000 Tier Credit bonus
    Earns Diamond Status in one day!


    Tier Milestones

    Gold: Complimentary upon sign-up

    Platinum: 5,000 Tier Credits

    Diamond: 15,000 Tier Credits

    Seven Stars®: 150,000+ Tier Credits to qualify

    For complete rules, please visit us online.

    It’s going to be a great year for Total Rewards members. Be on the lookout over the next few months for more information on exciting new program enhancements and ways to earn and redeem!


    Joshua Kanter
    Senior Vice President, Total Rewards

  6. #6
    The execs at CET smile when threads like these show up on gaming related forums. It's as if people who tell themselves they made up for all that losing last year because of their cunning GGWU hoax, just can't wait to start doing it all over again. I shake my head....and thank you in advance so much for filling their machines up for me if I ever decide to go back.

  7. #7
    LizzyM this new "tier credit bonus" was touched on in another thread: http://vegascasinotalk.com/forum/showth...Credit-changes

    Actually, it will help high rollers accumulate more tier points at a lower cost.

    There were a few times during the year when I played and earned more than 2,500 tier points -- and unfortunately in 2013 the "bonus" was capped at an extra 5,000 points. Now, there is the potential for more "free bonus points" at no additional cost and without another day in the casino.

    I know some players who in 2013 went to a casino for a two day trip to play 2,500 tier points each day for two days to get a total of 10,000 bonus. Now, theoretically they can get that 10,000 bonus with only a one day trip.

    Of course the golden rule still applies: you never want to play for comps -- or for tier points -- but you do want to take and enjoy the fringe benefits.

    Missing, of course, from the Caesars emails is the warning that at some casinos some full-pay VP games require $25 of coin-in for one-tier point. So again, look for the full pay games at the casinos where you get 1 tier point for $10 coin-in.

    The $25 per tier point at Caesars on the 8/5 Bonus games and 9/6 Jacks or Better games is why I dramatically cut back on my video poker play there. If I want to play video poker for 8/5 Bonus or 8/5 Aces and Faces I am going to play at Rincon. At Caesars I will play craps instead of the card craps at Rincon.

  8. #8
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    Hi Alan,

    Thank you I went and read the other thread I too had a few days where I was well over the 2500, so I am glad we can at least earn more TC on those days.

    On the GGWU, do you have any idea when it will be this year or is it always on the same dates? I have not recvd any mail on this yet as you mentioned you have in another

    thread. I JUST started to get mail in general from Corporate although my Rincon host was sending snail mail invites and emails to San Diego.

    I REALLY enjoyed that event I also combined it with two shows and it was a lot of fun...I would like to play on bonus days etc to bump up my GGWU instead

    of "any day". For example, today Sat the 11th they have a promotion at Rincon - $10.00 back for every 150 Tier Credits.....Last year I missed this and

    played the next day and realized I would of gotten $1200.00 in Visa Cards! Really annoying! LOL!

    Anyway, thank you for responding.....I am going to Lake Tahoe on the 23rd of this month, any suggestions of what to check out up there if you have been ?

    Restaurants etc? And I am going back to Ceasers in Feb to see Shania and staying at the Octavius Tower again.

    After that....I think just staying local for a few months and then we shall see what trips and fun I can get up too

    Best, e.

  9. #9
    Oh! the thrill of that "special" 7-Stars status!

  10. #10
    I don't know what the dates are yet for the GGWU but as I've written before: be careful about "banking" on the GGWU since it is in December and heaven knows where we will be in December. If given a choice between a "current promo" and a promo for December -- I would rather take the promo that I can put in my pocket today.

    I know people who took advantage of various promos for the GGWU events in December only to find that they were unable to attend because of conflicts or illness.

    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and a promo in the hand is worth more than a bonus months later.

  11. #11
    Hello Alan,

    Will it be definite that we can exchange the gift points for free play at the end of the year? What is the exchange rate....gift points/free play dollar? Thank you so much.

  12. #12
    Originally Posted by en11871 View Post
    Hello Alan,

    Will it be definite that we can exchange the gift points for free play at the end of the year? What is the exchange rate....gift points/free play dollar? Thank you so much.
    Nothing is for certain because Caesar's loves to keep its customers in the dark.

    But they've remained fairly consistent in their policy regarding this matter over the past few years.

    It's likely that you can indeed exchange it for freeplay, at the rate of 3 points per penny. That is, it will cost you 300 points to get $1 of freeplay. However, you will have to do it in like $25 increments, so you will have some leftover points. If you are close, you can ask a supervisor at the checkout center to "round up" your points. I did that last year.

    BTW, the freeplay is the best deal. If you buy items, you will get a worse value per point -- usually 0.20-0.28 cents per point, rather than 0.33 which you get for both freeplay and gift cards.
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  13. #13
    thanks for joining us en11871. As Dan wrote we don't know for sure because the rules and catalogue for the 2014 GGWU have not appeared online yet. But the free play exchange option has been available for the past several years (I only used it myself two years ago for the first time). As Dan also pointed out the free play "cost" is similar to some gift cards. Last year free play was equal to the cost of Shell gas cards.

    I think the "big secret" about the GGWU is that there is a room with hosts in it where you can go to appeal for "extra points" to get a gift when you are short. However, don't expect to receive a lot of free points. When it's a small, reasonable amount you won't have any problem. For example you have 2,800 points and you need 200 additional points for a $10 Starbucks card.

  14. #14
    Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson View Post
    thanks for joining us en11871. As Dan wrote we don't know for sure because the rules and catalogue for the 2014 GGWU have not appeared online yet. But the free play exchange option has been available for the past several years (I only used it myself two years ago for the first time). As Dan also pointed out the free play "cost" is similar to some gift cards. Last year free play was equal to the cost of Shell gas cards.

    I think the "big secret" about the GGWU is that there is a room with hosts in it where you can go to appeal for "extra points" to get a gift when you are short. However, don't expect to receive a lot of free points. When it's a small, reasonable amount you won't have any problem. For example you have 2,800 points and you need 200 additional points for a $10 Starbucks card.
    Alan, while that back room isn't well publicized, it isn't what you think.

    I needed 600 points (worth $2) to get a $10 Shell card.

    I went into that back host's room, and the guy laughably offered to give me the 600 points "in exchange for 1200 RCs."

    1200 RCs are worth $12.

    So I asked, "You're charging me $12 in RCs for $2 in GGWU points?"

    He replied, "Well, um, yeah, but you have $2200 in RCs, so you can easily afford that."

    I then asked, "So you're saying that since I have a lot of RCs, I should just waste them? I should spend $12 in RCs so you can round up my GGWU points by $2? How does that make any sense?"

    He then stammered, "Ummm... well... I mean, I try to tell people this isn't a good deal and you probably shouldn't do it, but.... uhhh... a lot of people want to anyway..."

    This was a lie, because he didn't try to talk me out of it at all, and in fact was trying to rationalize why this was okay.

    He then insisted that "We can't round up points here, we can only trade for RCs".

    I was frustrated and left the room. I went to check out, and figured I would take another shot at asking the checkout woman if she could round it up for me. She consulted her supervisor, who agreed to do it for me, without charging me any RCs!

    BOTTOM LINE: If you want your points rounded up, do it at checkout (ask for a supervisor), and don't bother with that terrible host's room where they try to charge you RCs at a 6-to-1 factor!

    (On a side note, why was Caesar's trying to nickel-and-dime people with their RCs like that? It just served to get people mad. I think they were aiming it at people who wanted to buy something big, and figured they would be happy to spend $12 to round up their points $2 in order to buy something worth $1000. But still, it's a crappy thing to do to your customers.)
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  15. #15
    Dan did you ever get the feeling they don't like you?

  16. #16
    Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson View Post
    Dan did you ever get the feeling they don't like you?
    100% this wasn't personal.

    It's possible the guy would have done more for me if I was a higher 7 Star, but it seemed more like he had been given instructions to sell GGWU points for RCs, and didn't know what to say when I raised objection to it.

    Presumably, most people going back there are looking for a small number of GGWU points in order to make a large purchase. Like, they want some TV that costs 300,000 points ($1000), and they only have 299,400 points. So this guy "generously" gives them the 600 they need for just $12 in RCs, and it seems like he's a saint. They don't bother to think about the fact that they just gave $12 to get $2.

    Anyway, as I said, you should ask the checkout supervisor for points rather than the host.

    Oh, and I have no doubt that many at CET are aware that I am a "Seven Stars grinder" and they probably don't want to do a whole lot extra for me. But this guy wasn't.
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  17. #17
    I have never been asked to exchange reward credits for GGWU points, but to be honest, the last time I needed some GGWU points it was a small amount.

    With that said this is the first time I heard of any such arrangement -- converting reward credits for GGWU points -- and I wonder Dan if they are looking at your account with all of those reward credits you have banked and are making an exception for you? Honestly, I wonder if they are giving you special treatment because you have all those reward credits banked?

    I can tell you this: players who ask for too much based on their tier scores are sometimes given a cold shoulder when they ask for extras. There is an expression that the hosts at Caesars use when they refer to players who ask for too much: they call them "Diamonds from Tunica" and that is usually said with scorn in their voices.

  18. #18
    Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson View Post
    I have never been asked to exchange reward credits for GGWU points, but to be honest, the last time I needed some GGWU points it was a small amount.

    With that said this is the first time I heard of any such arrangement -- converting reward credits for GGWU points -- and I wonder Dan if they are looking at your account with all of those reward credits you have banked and are making an exception for you? Honestly, I wonder if they are giving you special treatment because you have all those reward credits banked?

    I can tell you this: players who ask for too much based on their tier scores are sometimes given a cold shoulder when they ask for extras. There is an expression that the hosts at Caesars use when they refer to players who ask for too much: they call them "Diamonds from Tunica" and that is usually said with scorn in their voices.
    Alan, I can't say with certainty that you're wrong, because only that host knows what he was doing. Is it possible that he gave free GGWU round-up points to others, and decided to charge me because I had a reputation for being a casino comps nit? Yes.

    However, my observation of the guy indicated that he didn't seem to know me, and did not put a lot of time into analyzing my play or account.

    He quickly pulled up my info on the computer, and within a short time made that 1200 RCs for 600 GGWU point offer.

    When I objected, that was when he brought up the "But you have so many RCs..." argument.

    If I had to guess, I would say that this wasn't anything personal or any attempt to punish me, but rather just standard protocol these days for someone wanting "round-up" GGWU points. As I said, he was probably thinking in terms of me needing $2 worth of points to buy a $1000 item, and couldn't understand why I wasn't willing to spend $12 in RCs to make it happen, especially with $2200 RCs sitting in my bank.

    When I responded that this was a huge waste of RCs and was a terrible deal, he suddenly changed his tune, acknowledging this to be true, and in fact claimed he tried to talk others out of this same terrible conversion rate.

    I would think that, if this were aimed at punishing me for being a "Diamond from Tunica" type, he would just have refused to help me in the first place.

    Now, I believe it's possible that a "High 7 Star" such as yourself might have gotten different treatment. But at the same time, it's not like my tier score was bad compared to the average GGWU attendee. Many of the people at the event were Platinum or Diamond, so my tier score was probably better than most.

    I really just think this is a dumb policy created by Caesar's, to where they are doing people "favors" which actually rob them of comps in the long run. I am not sure why the checkout supervisors are empowered to do the same without charging RCs. You would expect the host to have more power and more leeway in this situation, but it seems like the opposite.

    Kind of reminds me of a recent dispute I had regarding a hospital bill. They ran a test that seemed unnecessary (I even checked with my brother, who is a doctor, and he agreed) and billed me for it. They didn't tell me about the test at the time they did it. I got nowhere with the hospital billing department, yet the manager of admissions was somehow able to take care of it for me, and erased the charge. I would have never guessed that the admissions department would have any power over billing. You just never know...
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  19. #19
    I think that balance of $2200 in reward credits is giving you trouble.

  20. #20
    It's very difficult trying to determine which thread in which forum is more pathetic: this one, where big shot 7-Stars slaves gripe non-stop over two bucks here and a few thousand "points" there after countless other complaints....or the laughable thread over on vpFree that has the paupers going on forever about worrying over "triggering trips" by visiting CET lounges or restaurants etc., thereby reducing their precious offers by fifty cents in the future.

    I'll bet some of you whining little saps even cry about this stuff. Learn how to win CET's money and 100% eliminate such a foolish issue. Or continue to torture yourselves over losers' spoils and whimper yourselves thru the forums.

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