Finally Achieved Diamond Aspirations Level 2. 80,000 Tier Credits! Now what?

[Count Room]

Someday you may learn. Most gamblers go back for the "free stuff" and end up playing and losing even more. Just as the casino designed it.

Rob: Now wait a minute, isn't that where the discipline comes in? I could have those standard gambling trips with a standard bankroll, but also on some days I could choose not to gamble and simply come to the casino to pick up a free DVD player or whatever.

Why not carry a bunch of cash with me to the casino for a more strenuous test of discipline & mental resolve against the gnawing, soul-yearning craving for more fast video poker action during that non-gambling gift pick-up day?

Wouldn't a severe test of personal discipline such as this yield a deeper intrinsic psychological reward after the battle had been won by my leaving the casino with the gift and without gambling a dime?

[ccerts]

There is no such thing as "Diamond Aspiration 2 status", aside from the additional perks you get.

So:

Your Diamond status is good through 3/31/16.

All other benefits, including your airfare, must be used by 3/31/15 or they expire.

Thanks Dan! Now I've got to decide where to go by 3/31/15.

[Dan Druff]

Here are my suggestions for TR trips. Some of this depends upon where you live (that is, if you live close, it won't be much of a thrill):

1) Lake Tahoe: But make sure to go in either summer or winter. Fall is cold and without snow -- not a good combination.

2) San Diego: But keep in mind that it's NOT close to the airport (like 45 miles), and is not close to ANYTHING of interest. Still, you will be in southern CA, and both San Diego and Anaheim are a reasonable drive away. This is the only CET property in California.

3) Atlantic City: Stay at Caesar's, far and away the best property there. Also a good place to go if you would like to go elsewhere in the northeast, such as NYC, Philadelphia, Washington DC, or even Boston. Remember that you can fly back from a different airport.

4) Las Vegas: But of course, don't bother with this being your trip if you live in California.

5) New Orleans: Interesting place to visit. The Grand Biloxi (another CET hotel) is just 90 miles to the east, and can be an interesting small trip, as well. If you go to New Orleans, be sure to do a "swamp tour", though make sure to bring a jacket if you go in the winter. Harrah's New Orleans is one of the nicer CET properties, and it's got a great location near the French Quarter.

6) Windsor: This is in Canada, and right across from Detroit. About 230 miles from Niagara Falls, if you are interested in going there.

Would love to see CET get properties in Boston, south Florida, and Seattle areas.

[ccerts]

Here are my suggestions for TR trips. Some of this depends upon where you live (that is, if you live close, it won't be much of a thrill):

1) Lake Tahoe: But make sure to go in either summer or winter. Fall is cold and without snow -- not a good combination.

2) San Diego: But keep in mind that it's NOT close to the airport (like 45 miles), and is not close to ANYTHING of interest. Still, you will be in southern CA, and both San Diego and Anaheim are a reasonable drive away. This is the only CET property in California.

3) Atlantic City: Stay at Caesar's, far and away the best property there. Also a good place to go if you would like to go elsewhere in the northeast, such as NYC, Philadelphia, Washington DC, or even Boston. Remember that you can fly back from a different airport.

4) Las Vegas: But of course, don't bother with this being your trip if you live in California.

5) New Orleans: Interesting place to visit. The Grand Biloxi (another CET hotel) is just 90 miles to the east, and can be an interesting small trip, as well. If you go to New Orleans, be sure to do a "swamp tour", though make sure to bring a jacket if you go in the winter. Harrah's New Orleans is one of the nicer CET properties, and it's got a great location near the French Quarter.

6) Windsor: This is in Canada, and right across from Detroit. About 230 miles from Niagara Falls, if you are interested in going there.

Would love to see CET get properties in Boston, south Florida, and Seattle areas.

Dan- Thanks for the great recommendations! We live in Milwaukee, so all of your suggestions are great except Windsor. Brrr. We travel to get away from the cold.

I'm already going to Harrah's New Orleans next month for the Green Bay Packers vs Saints Game. Tahoe or AC would have been great, but not my thing in Fall or Winter as I've got to decide where to go by 3/31/15. Hmmm. Choices. I'm guessing my trip will end up being next March in Vegas for March Madness. How fun it is to plan and decide.

Thanks again for all the great ideas!

[Chimp]

Certs...don't forget that you can "double-dip" when taking your trip, meaning that if you have a separate offer from a Vegas casino and the timing works, you can book with that offer also.

[nerakil]

Certs...don't forget that you can "double-dip" when taking your trip, meaning that if you have a separate offer from a Vegas casino and the timing works, you can book with that offer also.

This sounds interesting; does it apply to Harrah's Lake Tahoe as well?

Is it possible to book the Diamond trip on December 1-5 (4 nights, $100 folio, airfare), and book another offer (e.g. 4 nights plus Macy's gift card) on December 5-9, flying home the 9th (for a total of 8 complimentary nights)?

[Chimp]

I don't know about adding to the length of the trip but I don't see why not. When using an Aspirations or 7stars trip to any destination you can double-dip, using an offer at the same time. I didn't know this the first time I took a trip but the next time my host told me and now I always try to time it to take advantage of an offer.

[Dan Druff]

Sorry, but the 8-night thing won't work.

You can only semi-double-dip the Aspirations/Seven Stars trip by having them book you on the separate offer, and then just manually adding the $500 folio to your account (for the Seven Stars trip).

You can't have two consecutive comp stays without staying at least 2 nights at a non-CET property in between.

[ccerts]

Certs...don't forget that you can "double-dip" when taking your trip, meaning that if you have a separate offer from a Vegas casino and the timing works, you can book with that offer also.

I hadn't thought about "double-dip" to Vegas as I'd hate to lose out on my mail offer by booking the Diamond Aspirations trip. So if I've got a mail offer of $700 freeplay at Caesars, I can get that $700 freeplay AND the $750 Diamond Airfare? 3 or 4 nights total for me.

Not sure who can do 8 nights in Tahoe

[Dan Druff]

I hadn't thought about "double-dip" to Vegas as I'd hate to lose out on my mail offer by booking the Diamond Aspirations trip. So if I've got a mail offer of $700 freeplay at Caesars, I can get that $700 freeplay AND the $750 Diamond Airfare? 3 or 4 nights total for me.

Not sure who can do 8 nights in Tahoe

Yes, I believe you can double dip here.

Here's how:

1) Book Caesars first with your offer, to make sure it's available. Don't do it with your host. Call the CCS at 1-800-CAESARS.

2) E-mail your host with the airfare stuff as I instructed in my earlier post, and tell him/her that you will do the hotel room stuff on your own.

Provided your $700 freeplay comes with the 3-4 free nights you want, then this should work.

[Alan Mendelson]

Yes, I believe you can double dip here.

Here's how:

1) Book Caesars first with your offer, to make sure it's available. Don't do it with your host. Call the CCS at 1-800-CAESARS.

2) E-mail your host with the airfare stuff as I instructed in my earlier post, and tell him/her that you will do the hotel room stuff on your own.

Provided your $700 freeplay comes with the 3-4 free nights you want, then this should work.

I have a few questions because I've never booked one of these trips. Aren't the trips only to Caesars casinos and wouldn't they see that you are double dipping through their computer system? And what host would let you book the hotel by yourself? That's their job, isn't it?

[Dan Druff]

I have a few questions because I've never booked one of these trips. Aren't the trips only to Caesars casinos and wouldn't they see that you are double dipping through their computer system? And what host would let you book the hotel by yourself? That's their job, isn't it?

Okay, I wasn't as clear as I should have been.

ccerts, you should actually tell your host, "I already took care of the hotel part with the property itself", rather than "I will take care of the hotel myself".

But that's just semantics. They'll know what you mean anyway.

Alan, the flight portion is not considered an "offer" -- only the hotel is. In fact, some people have been known to game the system by arranging a Seven Stars trip to New Orleans, getting their $500 RCs the day before they show up, canceling the hotel, and no-showing for the flight! I wouldn't suggest this because it could backfire in various ways, but people have done it and gotten away with it.

Anyway, the host books the flight using a code for Total Rewards to pay for it. Actually, if you follow what I said on the previous page, YOU do everything, and the host just approves it and sends the go-ahead to Passport Travel. The host pretty much checks off a box saying, "This person redeemed their flight for this year", so you can't do it again until next year. But that's it. It doesn't go into the system as you redeeming any offer.

The host can also book the hotel part, but they don't have to. In fact, some lazy hosts like to tell you to just call the property you're visiting and have a host there do it. Now, if you're a Seven Stars and taking your trip, there might be a complication with adding your $500 folio credit AND booking on a normal offer, as that might be considered double-dipping. This is because they might have to book the room with an "offer code" in order to get the $500 credit on there (not sure about this, though).

However, Aspirations trips don't get the $500 folio credit, so that's not an issue. I know for sure that the flight and the hotel are not connected, so basically you just book the offer through the CCS, and then arrange the flights and tell the host, "I've already got the room part done", and they won't question anything.

[Dan Druff]

In fact, the flight and the room are so unconnected that I have wondered if I could just book a totally unrelated trip and just use my Seven Stars Annual Trip $1200 for the flight, and not even bother with the hotel part.

So like say I wanted to go to Boston. I could definitely arrange a round trip flight from LAX to Boston for my Annual Trip and claim I am staying at Caesars AC, and will just drive there from Boston after I'm done there. They are totally fine with that. But I bet I could cancel my AC stay a few days beforehand, and I would still have my flight already prepaid, and could just take my own trip to Boston on Caesars' dime for the airfare, without ever setting foot in AC.

I haven't done this, because I am afraid they will catch this and kick me out of the TR program, so I do these trips in a kosher fashion. Besides, I like the $500 in free food, anyway. But it would be tempting to pull something like this if I was only getting an Aspirations trip and not the $500 folio for the food.

[Chimp]

Yes, I believe you can double dip here.

Here's how:

1) Book Caesars first with your offer, to make sure it's available. Don't do it with your host. Call the CCS at 1-800-CAESARS.

2) E-mail your host with the airfare stuff as I instructed in my earlier post, and tell him/her that you will do the hotel room stuff on your own.

Provided your $700 freeplay comes with the 3-4 free nights you want, then this should work.

Dan- Did you have a bad "host" experience in the past? I'm asking because here, and in other threads, you always advise to book hotels yourself and to call passport yourself, etc.

My home casino is Rincon but I rarely use my host there for anything, as I don't usually stay overnight. But I have a host in Vegas that does everything for me. When I am planning a trip I tell her the dates, the hotel and room type I want, the offer for those dates, the airline and exact flights that I want and flight times for the limo to and from the airport. I have never had a problem. In fact, when I am traveling with my Mom or a friend my host gets an adjoining room to my suite, which I could probably not do calling the hotel directly.

And if a problem ever arises I would just call her and not have to call the hotel or passport separately.

Not too long ago I had to unexpectedly meet my 13 year old daughter in the Vegas airport to make sure she caught a connecting flight. About 10 p.m. I made a flight for myself (for the next morning) and emailed my host with the flight info and told her that I would need a room. Before I arrived in Vegas in the early a.m. I received a reply from her and she had already arranged a suite and limo rides and also booked me with a free play offer that was available that day!

As far as I'm concerned I will always go through this host and never try to arrange everything myself. And she also can arrange trips for me at other non-vegas properties.

[Dan Druff]

Dan- Did you have a bad "host" experience in the past? I'm asking because here, and in other threads, you always advise to book hotels yourself and to call passport yourself, etc.

My home casino is Rincon but I rarely use my host there for anything, as I don't usually stay overnight. But I have a host in Vegas that does everything for me. When I am planning a trip I tell her the dates, the hotel and room type I want, the offer for those dates, the airline and exact flights that I want and flight times for the limo to and from the airport. I have never had a problem. In fact, when I am traveling with my Mom or a friend my host gets an adjoining room to my suite, which I could probably not do calling the hotel directly.

And if a problem ever arises I would just call her and not have to call the hotel or passport separately.

Not too long ago I had to unexpectedly meet my 13 year old daughter in the Vegas airport to make sure she caught a connecting flight. About 10 p.m. I made a flight for myself (for the next morning) and emailed my host with the flight info and told her that I would need a room. Before I arrived in Vegas in the early a.m. I received a reply from her and she had already arranged a suite and limo rides and also booked me with a free play offer that was available that day!

As far as I'm concerned I will always go through this host and never try to arrange everything myself. And she also can arrange trips for me at other non-vegas properties.

I am what's known as "overcomped", meaning I have redeemed far more comps (mostly free rooms and freeplay) than my play justifies. That is, I'm not stealing or doing anything illegal, but I am taking advantage of far more Seven Stars benefits than CET would really like to see.

Therefore, when I call a host, they bring up my info on the computer, see the huge negative comp balance I have (basically that I have to play a ton just to get back to "zero" comps!), and refuse me. Therefore, these hosts also cannot get any kind of bonus for my play, and for that reason they don't want to help me.

So that's why I avoid hosts. However, I will also acknowledge that my situation is not typical.

However, in the case of the Seven Stars trip, you really are better off not using the host to arrange it (more than the minimum required).

This is simply because the host is unlikely to get the best flight for you, but is rather just going to quickly find one that looks okay and book it. It might be at 6am, it might have stops, it might have seats in the back of the plane that don't recline, it might be on a crap airline. The bottom line is that you should choose your own flight and follow my procedure to then have the host book it through Passport Travel.

And regarding the hotel room, you should contact the host at the property you're visiting, rather than your local host. This is because your local host is unlikely to have much influence or knowledge of the other property, and again will fail to do as much for you.

Now, in other situations that don't have to do with your Seven Stars/Aspirations trip, you should contact the host to help you, provided that you are a regular player and that you plan to play on the upcoming trip. You also have to be mindful that your host won't do much for you if you have RCs still in your account, and you have to be careful that they don't deduct your RCs and call them "comps". This actually just happened to another member of this forum (I think ccerts, if I remember correctly).

Hosts are actually best in situations like the one you described. Aside from the suite and the limo, you could have done the exact same thing yourself (book at 10pm, get an offer with freeplay for the next day) by calling the 800 (CCS) number. So if a host can make you happy by simply pressing buttons for things they easily have available, they'll do it. You were given the suite because your play must have justified it in recent times.

Back before I was overcomped, I did contact hosts when I needed a second room. They are good for that, as you can't get a free second room on your own, and they don't have to deduct your existing RCs to do it.

Bottom line is that hosts can do things for you if you're an active and regular player, but if your play is sporadic or mostly in the past, you are best avoiding them and doing the booking on your own.

[Dan Druff]

BTW, the reason the CCS does more for me than the hosts is simply because of the information made available.

When I call the CCS, all they see is "Seven Stars", and they can't tell the difference between me (way overcomped) and a huge whale. So they just assume that I'm a valuable guest to get on property, and I can usually talk them into doing anything within their power (which is limited, but they can make some exceptions).

When I call a host, they see my huge negative comp balance and immediately tell me "no" to even the simplest request.

To the hosts, I am worthless. To the CCS, I look like a great customer for CET.

So I use the CCS.

[nerakil]

I am going to report back whether I was successful or not at booking a Diamond Aspirations trip to Harrah's Lake Tahoe plus another event.

The event is a large amount of free slot play giveaway (plus 2 free nights, but I want to stay longer). I will call CET and try to book the offer as "event only"/"non-lodger". Then I will get the host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe to book a room for 4 or 5 nights. Finally, I'll book the Diamond Aspirations $750 flight and limo through my local host.

Interestingly, the dates I am looking for this October are the exact dates as my post a year ago on this same topic.

http://vegascasinotalk.com/forum/showth...ip-How-To-Book

[theiceman]

Sorry, but the 8-night thing won't work.

You can only semi-double-dip the Aspirations/Seven Stars trip by having them book you on the separate offer, and then just manually adding the $500 folio to your account (for the Seven Stars trip).

You can't have two consecutive comp stays without staying at least 2 nights at a non-CET property in between.

Your aspirations trip is above and beyond any normal comps you are entitled to. if you have booked a 5 day comp you can add the 4 aspiration days to it to get 9 days comped.

[theiceman]

BTW, the reason the CCS does more for me than the hosts is simply because of the information made available.

When I call the CCS, all they see is "Seven Stars", and they can't tell the difference between me (way overcomped) and a huge whale. So they just assume that I'm a valuable guest to get on property, and I can usually talk them into doing anything within their power (which is limited, but they can make some exceptions).

When I call a host, they see my huge negative comp balance and immediately tell me "no" to even the simplest request.

To the hosts, I am worthless. To the CCS, I look like a great customer for CET.

So I use the CCS.

100% best way... i too am over comp'd based on my play since i use the 4x credits in horse wagering and play break even craps to amass my points... when booking my trips i call the direct hotel and ask for vip services... 1 step lower than a host... they get room squared away with no problems and will usually get you the best available..

[theiceman]

–All 2015 Aspirations are valid until 6/30/2016