Upgraded cards for non-gamblers
 

I really find this strange but you can get VIP status without gambling under he new MGM & Harrah's players card system.

http://markslasvegas.markanduss.com/

Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisamoge...agging-rights/


Mlife Tier Credits for Non-Gaming Activities

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Mark's Las Vegas


When I originally posted about MGM Resorts’ Mlife program I mentioned that you could earn Tier Credits for retail, dining, entertainment and lodging expenses. I left out one detail though, because I hadn’t been able to verify it. Now I can add it.
Your earn 25 Tier Credits for every dollar you spend on dining, entertainment, spa services and lodging when you track it with your Mlife card. Please note that shopping purchases are no longer part of the program. As a general rule though, if you can charge it to your room, you can get 25 Tier Credits per dollar for it.

If you never gamble, but want to get the perks associated with some of Mlife’s higher tiers, this is what it will cost:
Sapphire: $0 (everyone starts with this)
Pearl: $1000
Gold: $3000
Platinum: $8000
Noir: $40,000

This is something I'm interested in, you can see my other thread in this forum. I'm a non-gambler and looking for discounted room rates. It says in the article "To put it in perspective, a sapphire membership gets you discounted room rates"

Now I'm sure sapphire doesn't give you much because everyone gets it but would getting to Gold actually get me something decent discount wise? As a person who goes to Vegas about every every 6 weeks or so, I don't gamble much myself. But I do go out to eat a lot and club and stuff.

I've been trying to think up ways to leverage my spending and get some discounts, as much as I'd love free I doubt it will happen since I don't gamble that much. But if I could get rooms cheaper I'd be out more often.

Do you have any personal experience with this? I'm tempted to give them a shot, I've mostly written off players clubs since I don't gamble. But I may give this a shot.

The other thing that sticks out to me is "Priority Check-in Line & Priority Early Check-in/Late Check-out" at gold level. That's another perk I'd prefer to get.

In Harrahs (CET) system status levels: Platinum, Diamond, Seven Stars (everyone who signs up is initially Gold) can only be obtained through gambling.
Rewards points (which can be earned from other sources) can be used to cover lots of things (food, room, etc.) aren't that good a deal, since 1 point correlates to spending $1.00, and each point "buys" you $0.01 worth of amenities--so if you got, say, 2500 points (from non-gambling sources), it would give you $25 of "buying" power.
[Even "small time" gamblers, in Harrahs system, will get offers for free rooms (at off periods)...]

So is CET the best for someone like me? When looking at it it says to get to plat is 4000 which is 1 point to $5... I'd have to spend $20,000 there. Which I will not be. And to get express check in and late check out is diamond 11,000 $55,000.... I don't think the plan is right for me unless.

Mlife seems to be easier at getting gold for $3000 spend. Which is something I can do over the course of a year.

What I'm looking for is using my spending power (which isn't much) between hotel room and dining to help me get discounts or (won't hold my breath) comped rooms. The other benefits I'd like are invited guest check in and late check out would be a benefit.

Am I understanding it correctly?

If you play slots, to get to 4000 points, you have to cycle $20,000 through the machines in a year--to do this you do NOT have to lose $20,000. Example, you put $1 in a slot machine, you win $2 and then each time you press play you alternately lose $1 and then win $1, 6 plays per minute for 1 hour, you would have cycled 6 x 60 = $360, with NO net win or loss (and gotten 72 points)--while this is an extreme example, it does illustrate how the system works.
Harrahs rewards players level in lots of ways, at buffets, check-in, Total Rewards center, cashier cage, special lines are set up for different tiers.
Mlife, has tiers, but the last time I played, only the buffet had a special line for the highest regular tier.
PS: Most casinos especially, say, Atlantic City would have lots of empty rooms on weekdays in the winter--without being a big gambler, they comp these regularly--probably a similar deal in LAS, which has lots more rooms than AC (assuming there is no convention.)

I don't think I'll be able to cycle through $20,000 in play or $55,000. Maybe a combo of dining/hotel and cycling money through it's possible but is total rewards really that much better discounted/comp'd rooms then MLife? Like I said my primary focus is discounted/comp'd rooms and invited guest check in and late check out. Those mean the most to me. Free food/line pass is nice but I'm not much of a buffet person. Free drinks and a lounge is nice benefit though.

Total Rewards is nationwide, Mlife is mainly Las Vegas based (and a few other casinos). [I'm NYC based, and Atlantic City (which has 4 TR casinos), make this system best for me.]
Harrahs casinos have Diamond Lounges (and in AC 2 Seven Stars)--MLife casinos don't (at least they didn't, when I played there last) have "top tier" lounges.

To be honest I don't have much interest currently in TR's other properties. So it doesn't fit into my decision very much. And lounge is a nice throw in but not really needed. I'm still not sure where to devote my energy. I think more research is needed.