james400

I think the people are having a hard time coming to grips with gambling taking a backseat to all other spending in casinos. We use the TR Visa throughout the year, accumulate RC's and have a yearly blowout in Vegas. I book our show tickets using TR points, we've done Ramsay Steak 5 times, BLT Steak, Ruth Chris, the old Range steakhouse at Harrahs, etc., all paid with TR points. . Because we don't gamble much, the only tier points we really generate are from the TR Visa we use at the resort, 1 for 1 TC's, 5 for 1 RC's on all CET spending. The FC is just another low cost, non gambling option that saves us the resort fees and the head of line benefits we like. Nothing to lord over anyone, our "recreational" spending probably rivals what some spend on gambling. Which is why Vegas keeps giving us comp rooms and wanting us back. I get calls from a host a couple of times a year, I blow them off, I've never needed anyone to help me make reservations or help me spend my money.

Harry Lyme

I'll never, ever understand the mindset some people have with this. You would think a decent number are unaware of ways to earn RCs that don't require thousands in coin-in on a visit to the casino. Not saying it's easy, or that a card or surveys, or even choosing RCs instead of FP or gifts is right for everyone. I'm just saying that the option is there. Just like Borgata with the $25 dining credit on myVegas. Want Amphora Lounge entry? Just play a free game! Don't want to? Don't tell me these GAMBLING-based companies are trying to hose you, then. Sure, the kickback isn't what it once was, but nor was getting comp dollars at home a reality. My RC balance is $121 and my express comps is sitting at $41 after my last trip. Half of both those numbers is from non-play, so I don't want to hear someone's being kept out of a lounge because of $10 in comps.

gkbiiii

There are targeted emails from CET, that are giving you 1,000 tier points, per night in any of their resorts, above a $20 nightly threshold. So 15 nights would get Diamond & 150 would be Seven Star's. I wonder if they would award this, for non-gaming play. I bet with a mixture of play/nights the would award Seven Stars.

Harry Lyme

Considering it's currently only good through 3/31, you're not reaching 7*. Still, I dig this promo.

james400

I just ran took a look online at Harrahs Laughlin and booked 15 of the cheapest days through 3/31, total for room, with resort fees and tax came to $622 ($43 a day). Even less if you factor in the quest, now you are down to 12 days for $516 plus the cost of the quest. So base Diamond is now valued by CET at $622. If I didn't have the FC, this would be my backup plan. Wonder how the "real" gamblers feel about this?nightly rates:MON01/22/2018$35.70$24.99TUE01/23/2018$35.70$24.99WED01/24/2018$35.70$24.99THU01/25/2018$35.70$24.99New Year, New Empire- $42.84Subtotal:$142.80$99.96Resort Fees:$48.00Taxes:$18.50Total:$166.46

The downside is, you'd be stuck 12-15 days in Laughlin, but LV is only 90 miles away.

sbjnyc

CET absolutely cares. They prefer you earn diamond by spending/losing money at their resorts. They tolerate everyone else as long as they earn more from FC than it costs them in benefits in aggregate. The benefit is an enticement to stay/play but you get the $100 celebration dinner even if you don't.
This is of course true, though individual anecdotes are irrelevant. My company holds a bunch of CET bonds (or whatever they're called now) and they seem to be doing reasonably well, though still junk status. They are doing a lot of property transactions (including a sale leaseback of HLV).

james400

The only tangible benefit from FC/CET is the $100 "celebration" voucher. ( I guess head of line could be considered a tangible benefit, but the VIP card achieves the same purpose). All else is dictated by the amount of spend one does at a resort. No play/no spend gets you no comps/no offers. You will get waived resort fees, but you will be paying for a room.

Harry Lyme

I've been further debating this as Bally's perhaps calculates my trip a few weeks ago where I gave them way more play than usual. I've always super low played them, so they return the favor by charging me $19-plus certain nights (Caesars and Harrah's comp me...odd, right?). Provided I jump right on it, I could do 3 nights a week on a $24 room over three weeks, stick to slots, and end up cashing out with just under 12K in bonuses (including the Quest) at a truly minimal cost. Add in Vegas this year, plus my regular play, and I could very well end up in 25K territory. I haven't played for tier in ages, but this is pretty sweet. IF I decide to fuss with it.

pwd847

I went to redeem my celebration dinner last night at Horseshoe Hammond, IN. The TR desk tried to tell me that I already redeemed my CD on 1/27/2017. That doesn't even make any sense! The expiration has always expired on 1/31. The manager spent a good 10-12 mins hemming and hawing around just staring at the computer screens and not really doing anything. I finally had enough, and started voicing my concerns that my reservation had begun 15 minutes ago. She called a casino host over and the host started to suggest that maybe my TR card was mixed up with someone else's. I replied with an angry, "That doesn't even make any sense! You just saw and matched my name on the card to my ID!" She also said that last year (2017) I was only platinum and not diamond to which I replied, "Then please explain why I have that Diamond card that I just handed to you?" This prompted her to request to see my ID for the 3rd time. Eventually she just went ahead and manually sent up a $100 comp to the steakhouse. The whole process easily took 20 mins. My mother and brother were standing behind me and they later told me that they could see in my face how angry I was. Haha

This experience felt very insulting. Beware guys. Hold your ground. Get that money!

Harry Lyme

You gave them the printout and card and they still gave you crap? I think the "you redeemed it on 1/27/17" is most insulting, 'cause everyone knows it doesn't work like that.

huge

Sorry, this is not a FoundersCard question, but I'm guessing people subscribed to this thread know the answer and might see it faster if I post it here...

I just noticed that my 16K TR credits will expire on January 23 (ie in 2 days). I have a TR Visa card, but I'm pretty sure if I put a charge on it now for a few dollars, the credits won't post in time (I'll do it anyway just in case it helps). Obviously it was dumb of me not to put $5 on the card a couple of months ago.

Is there any way to get a few TR credits immediately so that my balance won't expire?

Thanks for any advice/ideas...
humbly,
-huge

Harry Lyme

Yes, the Say and Play surveys. You get 500 RCs for signing up, and the points generally get deposited daily. You even get 5 for not qualifying, which still can extend your expiration date. So head to the website (www.sayandplay.com) and save that loot!

Other than periodically using the TR Visa on everyday purchases, I can think of no easier way to extend your expiration date, and none that involves not spending money.

Seabilly

I don't remember how quick it is, but i once bought $1 worth of chips for the Caesars Slots on Facebook and got 1 RC, to keep my reward credits from expiring. Just looked and now it appears the minimum is $2 worth of chips. Might be worth a try.

Actually at this late date I'd probably do both the Say and Play surveys that Harry Lyme mentioned and a couple bucks on the Caesar's Slots in case one is quicker than the other. Good luck.

mudpuppy

Perhaps not tangible, but no resort fees and free parking are a valuable benefit if you're staying at TR resorts anyway. At nearly $50/night for resort fee plus parking in Vegas, once you throw in the celebration dinner, FC can pay for itself in 4-6 nights depending on your FC rate. Plus there's the two free show tickets per month in Vegas, which can be worth up to $180 if you score seats to Penn & Teller. None of these benefits are available on the VIP card (which is only valid in Vegas.)

mudpuppy

I've had poor interactions with the Hammond TR desk in the past as well. They had a simple "earn x tier credits and get a free buffet." I earned several multiples of x and they tried to tell me I hadn't earned enough tier credits. I suspect they had meant to exclude video poker from the promo, but nowhere did it say they. Eventually they comped me the buffet anyway.