Best ways to Seven Stars or "Diamond in a Day" for Caesars properties around the US

[Dan Druff]

Hi all,
We're going to Harrah's Tahoe next week, staying 4 days. I am half way to diamond and determined to reach the required 15000 TC's within the first two days. Assuming I do, what is anyone's experience with how long the bonus tiers take to hit your account? Do people that make DiaD really walk away with a new card and all the perks that go along with it - that day?

While our stay is comped as platinum, we do get charged for resort fees. If I make diamond on day 2, is it unreasonable to expect the last two days resort fees be waived?

Hi, welcome to PokerFraudAlert.

First off, if you are halfway to Diamond (7500 TCs or more), I would suggest you earn Diamond in one day. That is, play exactly 2500 base tier credits, and you will get 5000 bonus, pushing you over 15,000. Otherwise you are being very inefficient about it, as the next bonus down isn't nearly as good.

Regarding your questions:

You are not instantly granted Diamond if you get it through bonus tiers. This is because bonus tiers post at about 6am the following day, so you won't have your status until the bonus tiers post.

So let's say you show up Friday night, already have 7500 tiers from the past, and check in. Then you play 2500 base tiers that same night, and earn 5000 bonus tiers. You will be granted Diamond at 6am Saturday when those 5000 bonus tiers post. However, if you exceed 15,000 WITHOUT bonus tiers (let's say you show up with 14,500 and earn 700 that day), then you get it instantly.

I believe you CAN get your resort fees waived, even if you earn Diamond in the middle of the stay. However, I am not sure about their official policy on this. I would suggest doing the following:

1) When you check in, sign that you're paying the resort fee, as normal.

2) When you make Diamond (or the next morning following making Diamond, if it involves bonus tiers), go to Total Rewards and have them print your new Diamond card.

3) Walk over to the front desk of the hotel. Hand them your ID and new Diamond card. Say, "I'm Diamond, but I believe I'm being charged resort fees. Can you fix this?" They will then verify that you're really still Diamond, and adjust them. If they ask, "Were you Diamond when you booked?", you should answer, "I was Platinum, but I became Diamond in between then, and I didn't realize at first that I had to come over here." Even if they somehow catch that you just made Diamond, you can always say you were confused and didn't understand what they were asking you. I have a feeling that the hotel can't see the date that you made Diamond (but I'm not sure).

Keep in mind that the existing policy may not require the trickery in #3, but I am not sure what the policy is regarding making Diamond in the middle of your stay, and CET employees tend to be so poorly informed of such rules that calling the hotel will get you 3 different answers.

I do know for a fact, however, that you ARE entitled to get the resort fees waived if you book as Platinum, make Diamond before check-in, and then inform them at check-in. I know this because a friend of mine did exactly that. If you make Diamond AFTER your stay, you are definitely NOT entitled to getting the resort fees back. But during? That's a grey area, but I bet you can talk them into it by using the method described in #3.

I would advise going to the front desk late at night, as Harrah's Lake Tahoe tends to be staffed by just one person at that time, and that person doesn't seem to give much of a crap. That's what you want here.

If for some reason you are refused, try going to a host and asking if they can make an exception and just comp off your resort fees. However, they might want to use your RCs to do this, which obviously isn't a real comp, so make sure that's not what they're doing.

Good luck, and please post whether you were successful in removing the resort fees.

[dannyj]

Excellent tips Dan, thank you!
I'll let you know what happens.

[dannyj]

Hi all,
We're going to Harrah's Tahoe next week, staying 4 days. I am half way to diamond and determined to reach the required 15000 TC's within the first two days. Assuming I do, what is anyone's experience with how long the bonus tiers take to hit your account? Do people that make DiaD really walk away with a new card and all the perks that go along with it - that day?

While our stay is comped as platinum, we do get charged for resort fees. If I make diamond on day 2, is it unreasonable to expect the last two days resort fees be waived?

Hi, welcome to PokerFraudAlert.

First off, if you are halfway to Diamond (7500 TCs or more), I would suggest you earn Diamond in one day. That is, play exactly 2500 base tier credits, and you will get 5000 bonus, pushing you over 15,000. Otherwise you are being very inefficient about it, as the next bonus down isn't nearly as good.

Regarding your questions:

You are not instantly granted Diamond if you get it through bonus tiers. This is because bonus tiers post at about 6am the following day, so you won't have your status until the bonus tiers post.

So let's say you show up Friday night, already have 7500 tiers from the past, and check in. Then you play 2500 base tiers that same night, and earn 5000 bonus tiers. You will be granted Diamond at 6am Saturday when those 5000 bonus tiers post. However, if you exceed 15,000 WITHOUT bonus tiers (let's say you show up with 14,500 and earn 700 that day), then you get it instantly.

I believe you CAN get your resort fees waived, even if you earn Diamond in the middle of the stay. However, I am not sure about their official policy on this. I would suggest doing the following:

1) When you check in, sign that you're paying the resort fee, as normal.

2) When you make Diamond (or the next morning following making Diamond, if it involves bonus tiers), go to Total Rewards and have them print your new Diamond card.

3) Walk over to the front desk of the hotel. Hand them your ID and new Diamond card. Say, "I'm Diamond, but I believe I'm being charged resort fees. Can you fix this?" They will then verify that you're really still Diamond, and adjust them. If they ask, "Were you Diamond when you booked?", you should answer, "I was Platinum, but I became Diamond in between then, and I didn't realize at first that I had to come over here." Even if they somehow catch that you just made Diamond, you can always say you were confused and didn't understand what they were asking you. I have a feeling that the hotel can't see the date that you made Diamond (but I'm not sure).

Keep in mind that the existing policy may not require the trickery in #3, but I am not sure what the policy is regarding making Diamond in the middle of your stay, and CET employees tend to be so poorly informed of such rules that calling the hotel will get you 3 different answers.

I do know for a fact, however, that you ARE entitled to get the resort fees waived if you book as Platinum, make Diamond before check-in, and then inform them at check-in. I know this because a friend of mine did exactly that. If you make Diamond AFTER your stay, you are definitely NOT entitled to getting the resort fees back. But during? That's a grey area, but I bet you can talk them into it by using the method described in #3.

I would advise going to the front desk late at night, as Harrah's Lake Tahoe tends to be staffed by just one person at that time, and that person doesn't seem to give much of a crap. That's what you want here.

If for some reason you are refused, try going to a host and asking if they can make an exception and just comp off your resort fees. However, they might want to use your RCs to do this, which obviously isn't a real comp, so make sure that's not what they're doing.

Good luck, and please post whether you were successful in removing the resort fees.

Ok, so we are in day 2 of our 5 day stay and I made diamond this morning. The 5000 bonus tiers that I won from first day's play showed up in my account this morning and then I only needed a couple hundred more tiers to get to 15,000.

I just came back from the front desk and pretty much said verbatim to what you advised in #3. She asked me straight away when I made diamond and I admitted that I made it today. I got a little defensive and asked her what the rule was regarding making diamond status during the stay. She couldn't tell me and just said she would take care of it, including yesterday and today's fees. I think your right Dan, in that, I don't think they can see on their terminal when status has changed. She asked me when I made diamond after she had my room number and info up.

Thanks again for the tips.

[Dan Druff]

Hi, welcome to PokerFraudAlert.

First off, if you are halfway to Diamond (7500 TCs or more), I would suggest you earn Diamond in one day. That is, play exactly 2500 base tier credits, and you will get 5000 bonus, pushing you over 15,000. Otherwise you are being very inefficient about it, as the next bonus down isn't nearly as good.

Regarding your questions:

You are not instantly granted Diamond if you get it through bonus tiers. This is because bonus tiers post at about 6am the following day, so you won't have your status until the bonus tiers post.

So let's say you show up Friday night, already have 7500 tiers from the past, and check in. Then you play 2500 base tiers that same night, and earn 5000 bonus tiers. You will be granted Diamond at 6am Saturday when those 5000 bonus tiers post. However, if you exceed 15,000 WITHOUT bonus tiers (let's say you show up with 14,500 and earn 700 that day), then you get it instantly.

I believe you CAN get your resort fees waived, even if you earn Diamond in the middle of the stay. However, I am not sure about their official policy on this. I would suggest doing the following:

1) When you check in, sign that you're paying the resort fee, as normal.

2) When you make Diamond (or the next morning following making Diamond, if it involves bonus tiers), go to Total Rewards and have them print your new Diamond card.

3) Walk over to the front desk of the hotel. Hand them your ID and new Diamond card. Say, "I'm Diamond, but I believe I'm being charged resort fees. Can you fix this?" They will then verify that you're really still Diamond, and adjust them. If they ask, "Were you Diamond when you booked?", you should answer, "I was Platinum, but I became Diamond in between then, and I didn't realize at first that I had to come over here." Even if they somehow catch that you just made Diamond, you can always say you were confused and didn't understand what they were asking you. I have a feeling that the hotel can't see the date that you made Diamond (but I'm not sure).

Keep in mind that the existing policy may not require the trickery in #3, but I am not sure what the policy is regarding making Diamond in the middle of your stay, and CET employees tend to be so poorly informed of such rules that calling the hotel will get you 3 different answers.

I do know for a fact, however, that you ARE entitled to get the resort fees waived if you book as Platinum, make Diamond before check-in, and then inform them at check-in. I know this because a friend of mine did exactly that. If you make Diamond AFTER your stay, you are definitely NOT entitled to getting the resort fees back. But during? That's a grey area, but I bet you can talk them into it by using the method described in #3.

I would advise going to the front desk late at night, as Harrah's Lake Tahoe tends to be staffed by just one person at that time, and that person doesn't seem to give much of a crap. That's what you want here.

If for some reason you are refused, try going to a host and asking if they can make an exception and just comp off your resort fees. However, they might want to use your RCs to do this, which obviously isn't a real comp, so make sure that's not what they're doing.

Good luck, and please post whether you were successful in removing the resort fees.

Ok, so we are in day 2 of our 5 day stay and I made diamond this morning. The 5000 bonus tiers that I won from first day's play showed up in my account this morning and then I only needed a couple hundred more tiers to get to 15,000.

I just came back from the front desk and pretty much said verbatim to what you advised in #3. She asked me straight away when I made diamond and I admitted that I made it today. I got a little defensive and asked her what the rule was regarding making diamond status during the stay. She couldn't tell me and just said she would take care of it, including yesterday and today's fees. I think your right Dan, in that, I don't think they can see on their terminal when status has changed. She asked me when I made diamond after she had my room number and info up.

Thanks again for the tips.

Thanks for the update. I believe that your experience pretty much verifies they can't see when you made Diamond, which means that I would probably advise others to BS and just claim they made it before the stay started (but after the reservation was made), but forgot to mention it at check-in. As I said, even if they catch you in the lie, you can always make up BS and say you were confused and thought you had Diamond earlier than you did.

But anyway, I don't blame you for just wanting to be honest and avoid potential embarrassment/hassle.

Glad you got this worked out. Given that it's a CET property, I would call up and verify that your resort fees have really been waived for the entire stay. Otherwise something might have been messed up, and you could get a rude surprise at check-out.

Also make sure they really removed the resort fees, and did NOT use your RCs to pay them. So watch your RC balance closely, or simply visit Total Rewards and ask if any RCs have been spent in the past month.

[EasyGame]

Las Vegas

The Las Vegas market has been degraded, and it's been this way for awhile.

The sad truth is that it's just not very cost-effective to earn your status in Vegas.

But if that's your only option, here are a few games you can play:


Planet Hollywood
Double Super Times Pay 9-5 Jacks or Better: $1/credit, 3/5/10 play machine, 7 credits per hand when max play (this means minimum $21 per hand).
98.95% return. More variance than regular Jacks or Better, but same strategy. You're paying two credits extra for a "multiplier" which comes on every so often, which is actually a net positive for you. Best machine for racking up tier credits quickly, as you can earn 5000 tier credits in about two hours on 10-play mode. Located in High Limit room. Make sure it's Double Super Times Pay, and the 9-5 paytable. These are in the "All Star II" machines. There are also $2 and $5 3/5/10 play variants of this, but that's really introducing a lot of variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $525
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $5,250


Rio
Double Bonus Poker: $1/credit, 1 play.
99.11% return. This will earn tier credits slowly, and will take about 10 hours of play to earn 2500 tiers. But this is technically the highest returning machine in Vegas that gives you a tier credit per $10 wagered. Note that this is Double Bonus Poker, not Double Double Bonus. These are located directly in front of the Sports Bar. The paytable is 9 for a full house, 7 for a flush, 5 for a straight, quads at 50/80/160, and 55 for a straight flush. Verify these payouts before playing.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $445
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $4450


Caesars Palace (added April 2017)
Super Times Pay 9-5 Jacks or Better: $1/$2 credit, 1-9 play, 6 credits per hand in max play (meaning a minimum of $6/hand, maximum of $108/hand).
98.72% return. More variance than regular Jacks or Better, but same strategy. You're paying one credit extra for a "multiplier" which comes on every so often, which is actually a net positive for you. Less variance than the Double Super Times Pay machine at Planet Hollywood above, but a worse overall return. You can run this one slowly or quickly, as you can run up to 9 hands at once (but as few as 1), and $2/credit (but also $1/credit if you want). Machine is located in the small high limit room in front of the main cashier, between two All-Star Poker II machines.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $640
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $6400

I would consider Planet Hollywood's dstp as 98.85% because .1% comes from a 20x Royal.
odds of that happening is 1:9.7M

I would rather do the stp at caesars for my diamond run because it has 1/3 less variance than dstp.
and of course, if I had the time to do two 9hr stints for 2500 tc each day, I'd do the Rio.
but if you're going to sit at a vp machine for 18hrs, it'll be quicker to drive roundtrip to Harrah's in Laughlin and play their 8/5 BP (99.17%) @ $5 denomination

[EasyGame]

Thanks for the update. I believe that your experience pretty much verifies they can't see when you made Diamond, which means that I would probably advise others to BS and just claim they made it before the stay started (but after the reservation was made), but forgot to mention it at check-in. As I said, even if they catch you in the lie, you can always make up BS and say you were confused and thought you had Diamond earlier than you did.

diamond lounge can see when you made Diamond.
overheard the lady at the counter tell the guy in front of me that she sees that he made diamond a week ago

[terri995]

North Carolina


Below is a list of games at Harrah's Cherokee. All are located in the "new high limit room" (next to the table games area), unless otherwise indicated.

25-16-10-4-4 Deuces Wild ("Not So Ugly Deuces") $5 per credit, 1-play (99.73% return): Six machines here. Also four others located in the second room on left side of aisle after entering from parking garage escalator. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance. Strategy for this game is here.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $135
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $1350

Thank you for all the great info!!
My husband and I did go to Harrah's Cherokee and did manage to get the diamond status, but never id find the "Not So Ugly Dueces" game described here. We may try to get back there before the end of the year since I got a notice that the diamond lounge requirement is changing in 2018:

Diamond members will continue to receive:

$100 Celebration dinner
Priority lines at hotel check-in, restaurants, cashiers and Total Rewards® Centers
Complimentary resort fees for all stays
Complimentary valet and self-parking
Complimentary 4-night stay at Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas
And more great benefits

In 2018, Diamond Lounge access will be complimentary for members who earn at least 25,000 Tier Credits in 2017.2

My question is - can anyone confirm this game is still there?
Thank You!!
Terri

[Aces]

First time poster here. I read through the entire thread and didn't see this mentioned. You can get a FoundersCard for $495 through The Points Guy link. One of the benefits is you get Diamond status with Total Rewards. I haven't done it as I wouldn't use it enough to make it worthwhile, but it seems like a better option than likely spending over $1000 and 5-10 hours on VP to get the same thing.

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/05/fou...two-new-perks/

Edit: Just saw this listed in another post. Sorry if repeat. Still pretty easy to get value back just from resort fees alone if you go often enough. I would assume you will still get other perks just from playing, I get comped now quite often and I'm only a Platinum.

[go_buccos]

The ONE playable machine left in New Orleans (The 25 cent 8/5 BP Spin Poker Deluxe) is now $20/tier credit.

Worse, there’s no sign on the machine indicating the change. You have to figure it out on your own.

[Lanman122]

So the games at valley river won’t let you get diamond in a day?

North Carolina

There are two Harrah's Cherokee casinos in North Carolina.

One of them, simply called Harrah's Cherokee, has a number of very good (albeit somewhat high variance) machines to rack up tiers at minimum average loss.

The other one, Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel has no good games, aside from some super-high-limit ones.

Below is a list of games at Harrah's Cherokee. All are located in the "new high limit room" (next to the table games area), unless otherwise indicated.

25-16-10-4-4 Deuces Wild ("Not So Ugly Deuces") $5 per credit, 1-play (99.73% return): Six machines here. Also four others located in the second room on left side of aisle after entering from parking garage escalator. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance. Strategy for this game is here.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $135
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $1350

9-6 Bonus Deluxe $5 per credit, 1-play (99.64% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $180
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $1800

9-5 White Hot Aces $5 per credit, 1-play (99.57% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $215
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2150

9-6 Jacks or Better $5 per credit, 1-play (99.46% return): Six machines here. Four others located in the middle of the casino, close to the circular beverage station. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $230
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2300

9-6 Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces, $5 per credit, 1-play (99.46% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $270
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2700

9-6 Double Double Bonus Plus, $5 per credit, 1-play (99.44% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $280
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2800

[Dan Druff]

So the games at valley river won’t let you get diamond in a day?

North Carolina

There are two Harrah's Cherokee casinos in North Carolina.

One of them, simply called Harrah's Cherokee, has a number of very good (albeit somewhat high variance) machines to rack up tiers at minimum average loss.

The other one, Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel has no good games, aside from some super-high-limit ones.

Below is a list of games at Harrah's Cherokee. All are located in the "new high limit room" (next to the table games area), unless otherwise indicated.

25-16-10-4-4 Deuces Wild ("Not So Ugly Deuces") $5 per credit, 1-play (99.73% return): Six machines here. Also four others located in the second room on left side of aisle after entering from parking garage escalator. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance. Strategy for this game is here.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $135
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $1350

9-6 Bonus Deluxe $5 per credit, 1-play (99.64% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $180
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $1800

9-5 White Hot Aces $5 per credit, 1-play (99.57% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $215
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2150

9-6 Jacks or Better $5 per credit, 1-play (99.46% return): Six machines here. Four others located in the middle of the casino, close to the circular beverage station. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $230
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2300

9-6 Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces, $5 per credit, 1-play (99.46% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $270
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2700

9-6 Double Double Bonus Plus, $5 per credit, 1-play (99.44% return): Same strategy as Double Double Bonus Poker. As this will be $25 per hand, expect some variance.
Average loss getting to Diamond: $280
Average loss getting to Seven Stars: $2800

You can earn Diamond in a Day at Cherokee Valley River, but the games there are lousy, and it will cost you a lot more (on average).

I would suggest driving the extra distance to regular Harrah's Cherokee.

[tahoediamond]

I earned Diamond in May 2017 — it sounds like it’ll expire in Jan 2019, right?

If I hit 15k tier credits again in 2018, does that mean it’ll expire in 2020?

[Dan Druff]

I earned Diamond in May 2017 — it sounds like it’ll expire in Jan 2019, right?

If I hit 15k tier credits again in 2018, does that mean it’ll expire in 2020?

That is correct.

BTW, there may be a MAJOR change to Seven Stars benefits in 2018. The free room benefit might be gone!

So I would hold off on earning 7 Stars if this is important to you, until more info can be obtained.

[Dan Druff]

So yeah, this is pretty bad.

Here are the changes for 2018. All of them are negative, though the biggest one is not yet confirmed.


Diamond

- No more Aspirations #1 at 40,000 tier credits, meaning you lose your 4-night stay at any Caesars property with $100 folio credit

- No more Aspirations #2 at 80,000 tier credits, meaning you lose your $750 airfare credit and 4-night stay at any Caesars property

- No more Aspirations #2 two-night suite stay at any Caesars property

- Redemption of RCs to freeplay changes from 1.75:1 to 2:1 ratio.

- Access to Diamond Lounges now requires 25,000 tier credits. If you have 15,000-24,999 tiers, you will need to pay 1000 RCs (worth $10) to get in.

Basically, low Diamonds (15,000 tiers) get treated the exact same now as high Diamonds (80,000+ tiers)!



Seven Stars

- No more complimentary room benefit!! This a huge degradation, as this was by far the best benefit of the Seven Stars program. Up until 2018, you were able to get a 4-night stay complimentary at any Caesars property, with no blackout dates. You could also do this as many times as you wanted, as long as 48 hours were between reservations. This appears to be gone, but it's not totally confirmed.

- Redemption of RCs to freeplay changes from 1.25:1 to 2:1 ratio.

- Two of the four Signature Events are now only available to players with 500,000 or more tier credits. Seven Stars members with fewer than 500,000 tier credits can only go to Atlantic City or Las Vegas for their Signature Event. (These are kinda lame anyway, but it's yet another degradation.)


So there you go.

Brutal.

[donkdowndonedied]

- Once earned, you keep your status until January 31, TWO calendar years later. For example, any status earned in 2016 will last until January 31, 2018. Therefore, it is not wise to earn Diamond or Seven Stars at the end of the year. Wait until the beginning of the next year to do it!

Love this stuff Druff. Keep up the good work.

I have a question about above quote from OP. It says it is not wise to earn at end of year, but if the status flips on Jan 31rst, then you should also not try this in the first month of the year? Is this correct? I'm planning on getting diamond but am trying to figure out if I should wait a month to start.

edit - Wow, I will have to rethink whether I want to bother. Resort fees being knocked off is nice, but meh. Previously I thought I'd get diamond then keep the option open for 7 stars because of the room comp. No surprise it was removed. Too easy to exploit.

[csrev]

Thank you for all this VERY helpful info here. New to the site, after researching Diad.

Planning on attempting this for the first time on our next trip to Vegas in a few weeks, using the info here. W/2 comped 5 night stays this year, I figure we'll save close to $400 in resort fees to offset my loss on this, plus the dinner this year and (hopefully still) next year--and any trips we'll make next year. So it's the variance that will have me most worried.

My question: I've given little play to CET on previous trips, so the $50k w/Diad will be a huge jump. Would it be worth contacting a host when finished playing, to see if they'd comp dinner that night for my wife and I--or are they tight w/comps, since Diamond already includes the $100 dinner? If it makes a difference in the answer, I'll be staying at an MGM property during this play, then moving over to Paris which would be a different CET property than where I'm playing.

Thanks for any input! I've never had a problem asking for comps at South Point and Palms, but this would be a first at a CET property.
John

[Dan Druff]

- Once earned, you keep your status until January 31, TWO calendar years later. For example, any status earned in 2016 will last until January 31, 2018. Therefore, it is not wise to earn Diamond or Seven Stars at the end of the year. Wait until the beginning of the next year to do it!

Love this stuff Druff. Keep up the good work.

I have a question about above quote from OP. It says it is not wise to earn at end of year, but if the status flips on Jan 31rst, then you should also not try this in the first month of the year? Is this correct? I'm planning on getting diamond but am trying to figure out if I should wait a month to start.

edit - Wow, I will have to rethink whether I want to bother. Resort fees being knocked off is nice, but meh. Previously I thought I'd get diamond then keep the option open for 7 stars because of the room comp. No surprise it was removed. Too easy to exploit.

Good question.

Total Rewards is very confusing.

The earning year starts January 1. So your tier credits reset to 0 on that date.

The benefits year starts February 1. So January is considered an extension of the previous year, regarding redeeming benefits (and you can't redeem new benefits yet!)

This also allows one to earn status every other January, and continuing with that status without interruption.

Regarding the end of the room comp, it wasn't as obvious as you think. It existed for about a decade. Supposedly it was abused really badly in Atlantic City, with some people becoming roommates in order to avoid the "2 days off" situation, and basically living together at Caesars AC the entire year for free. Sounds like a miserable existence, but that's what some people did.

[Dan Druff]

Thank you for all this VERY helpful info here. New to the site, after researching Diad.

Planning on attempting this for the first time on our next trip to Vegas in a few weeks, using the info here. W/2 comped 5 night stays this year, I figure we'll save close to $400 in resort fees to offset my loss on this, plus the dinner this year and (hopefully still) next year--and any trips we'll make next year. So it's the variance that will have me most worried.

My question: I've given little play to CET on previous trips, so the $50k w/Diad will be a huge jump. Would it be worth contacting a host when finished playing, to see if they'd comp dinner that night for my wife and I--or are they tight w/comps, since Diamond already includes the $100 dinner? If it makes a difference in the answer, I'll be staying at an MGM property during this play, then moving over to Paris which would be a different CET property than where I'm playing.

Thanks for any input! I've never had a problem asking for comps at South Point and Palms, but this would be a first at a CET property.
John

This is a common question, but the short answer is no, you probably won't get a comp.

First off, they require that you use up all your RCs prior to issuing you any host comps (known as RFB, which stands for Room, Food, Beverage comps).

Second, they will only offer you RFB comps based upon your recent and semi-recent play -- and often the answer will be no, if you haven't played much on previous trips. In fact, you may be "overcomped" in the system, entitling you to nothing.

The $100 Diamond dinner is separate. That is a benefit by itself, and they will never use that as a reason to deny you. You can use that when you want, up through January 31, 2019.

Also, your offers will NOT change once you make Diamond. The offer system (free rooms, free meals, freeplay) are INDEPENDENT of tier status. Sometimes recent-playing Gold members will get better offers than overcomped Seven Stars!

Does your wife have a card yet? If not, your best play is to have her get a card, run a lot in video poker in one trip, and then don't ever swipe it again. Wait a few months and she will get some nice offers. But only do this if she doesn't have a card yet (or if she hasn't used it in 18+ months).

Simply playing more after no-playing them for awhile will not trigger good offers.

[csrev]

Thank you again. I got more answer than I'd hoped for, as I had wondered about better comps w/diamond.

Appreciate all that you offer here.

[Mike9999]

Thank you for tracking and providing this information. I have color coded 9/5 JoB and 9/7/5 DBP strategy cards printed, laminated, and ready to go.

I’m headed to Vegas tomorrow (staying at the apparently newly renovated Ballys) for my first March madness experience and plan to play DSTP at PH to get 2500 tier credits. Depending how that goes, I may go for another 2500 and DIAD. If not, I’ll have diamond by the end of March with the tier credit bonus i expect from the quest. Will update on how it goes.

One small correction...if the pay table listed for DBP at Rio is correct, the return is actually 99.16% with the 55-1 straight flush.