I do not completely understand how this works. I know where to use it and I know how to use it at the casino. But what do I do to get free stuff? How do I take advantage of the points I am getting when I gamble? Do the points ever go away? For instance, we are planning a Vegas trip in March of 2012. The airfare is paid for through Wyndham Resorts and now we are looking at a way to get a free way to stay. I mean seriously.....is here anything better than a Vegas vacation that costs nothing but gambling money? hehe

I know this is probably stupid questions but I just can't seem to wrap my head around it when I go to the total rewards website. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Nat

Hi Nat, and welcome to TalkVegas. You are right that a free trip is very nice.

First of all, your points are good for 6 months of non use. After that, they expire. Within the 6 months, you need activity to reset for another 6 months. Just one point will restart the clock. Shopping with the Total Rewards Visa or shopping in the Total Rewards Marketplace will give you points that resets the clock. I got an email from them last month warning that I need to earn a point by 16-NOV-11 or my points will expire. My last recorded play was on 5-17-11. Yep, it's their lack of consistency on the date format.

I'm not sure where you stand with points or where you get stuck on the Total Rewards website. It is a little overwhelming. If you have registered with card number and created a PIN, you should be able to log in to a My TR or My Account page. There will be a section in there called MY OFFERS. Currently, I don't have any offers because I don't like Harrah's video poker, and don't play there much.

I get regular e-mails from Total Rewards, but I don't pay a lot of attention to them. Maybe someone with a higher rating with Total Rewards can walk you through any specifics.

JMT has started you on the best place to find out offers. If you are trying to book a room and don't have an offer you can sign in on the total rewards website and then pick all vegas hotels and try to book a room for the nights you need. If you have played enough the rate will show "COMP" and you can book. If you are not comped it will offer you a rate base on the rated play previously. All hotels will be listed and you can pick teh rate you like.

If your not happy with the rate call the hotel directly and ask for the host on duty. Try to convince them you lost a lot last trip and they may help you out with a comp or more reduced casino rate.

Since I am a Diamond member I have around a 100 offers at any given time. It is always important to review all offers to determine which works best for your plans. I have also found some offers are good for specific nights but a call to a host can move the dates a little if needed. If you continue to play enough you will be assigned a Casino Sales Executive that can assist you at every property in vegas.

Good Luck

I log into TR (total rewards) then I go to punch in my dates of travel to plan a trip. sometimes even lowly gold members get a few comped nights.

Above post doesn't read the way I meant it to be.
The lowest card at harrahs is gold, and even when I was just a gold member, I would get discounter or free nights. Even when it said I had no offers!
as for the point system, their is two sets of points, one is your tier score, and the other is comp dollars. Comp dollars are lost if no activity in 6 months, however tier score is the acumulation of points for the year, which determines your card rating, ie, gold, plattnium, diamond, 7 stars.
your card status pretty much brings the offers.

Tier score is earned by reaching the following levels ever calendar year:
Gold = 0 - 3,999
Platinum = 4,000 - 10,999
Diamond = 11,000 - 99,999
7 Star = 100,000 ++++++

Just to help with the calculation of money spent each tier point requires $5.00 played in a slot machine. Points are awarded at the tables based on length of play and average bet. So, if you only play slots and want to be Diamond you only have to play $55,000 in a calendar year.

Thank You so much for all the help! I went to the TR website and between me and Joe we actually have a whole week that says COMP. except for the weekend and it gives us a discounted amount. <doing the happy dance> And now thanks to your advice, I will be calling to see if we can get that changed too.

We have other cards from Vegas but this seems to be the only one that we can use here and there.

So we are done going to the stupid Penn Nationals...We are only going to Harrah's or Atlantic City. Even if we walk out losing money...we still gained something with our points. Which helps us work towards our real goal....VEGAS!

You guys are awesome! thank you!

Natalie

ED, it's $10 a point if you play Video poker.
Why did you have to do the math....LOL

I didn't want to scare someone and show you have to play $110,000 to be Diamond if you play only Video poker. It's bad enough when I go to vegas with people and they see my tier score or reward credits they immediately ask how much I spend....LOL

Ed, I'm sitting here thinking, how much I spend!
Sharon & I are both Diamond and we still have 2 major gambling trips planned for this year!
Still, I don't ever see Seven star in my future!