On January 31, my Total Rewards Diamond status expired and was promptly reverted to Gold – the entry level, on February 1.
Later on February 1, I rematched my Wyndham Diamond back to Caesars Rewards and got my Diamond back by the end of the day.
Or, as this guy would put it …
UPDATE: 1.17.19
I’m reposting this to reflect my own experience with the status match.
1. The $100 Celebration Dinner didn’t work right away. I took my cousin Timmy to Caesars to update his card, and we invited some friends to Carmine at Bally’s expecting $200 coverage for two of us. While my $100 certificate worked just fine (I matched back in November), Timmy’s didn’t. Of course, the crappy explanation they gave us didn’t hold water, since it doesn’t say anywhere in the T&C that the benefit isn’t immediate, but they wouldn’t budge (and Timmy’s a mellow guy and didn’t want to take it further).
2. Screw-ups happen. My Atlantis booking was denied because I wasn’t listed with them as Diamond (has been fixed eventually). Funnily, Timmy’s booking worked fine right from the start.
3. They’re very stingy with comps in AC properties in my experience. Played at Caesars twice back in December — still nothing. I’m a very low-roller, but still have been overwhelmed with offers from Hard Rock, Ocean, Tropicana etc. Their TC accruals are also painfully slow. They’re as stingy as Borgata, IMHO.
4. Interestingly, I saw lots of comps in Vegas when joined — but they’ve since thinned out. There are almost no comp rooms anymore for me.
5. They have a new Diamond benefit: 2 free nights at Caesars Resort Dubai.
6. On February 1, the program will be rebranded to Caesars Rewards.
7. My Wyndham Diamond Rewards status expired on January 14 and promptly reverted back to Blue. Since my Total Rewards Diamond won’t expire until January 31, I was able to successfully match it back to Wyndham. The plan is to match it back to Total Rewards on February 1. My concern, though, is that my status, although it did get back to Diamond, still displays the old 01.14 expiration date. We’ll see.
My Atlantic City Status Match Adventure — Part 1: What’s Still Working and What Is Not
You don’t have to be a gambler to enjoy Total Rewards Diamond benefits. First class shows, first rate dining, great resort facilities – there are a plenty of things to do even for a non-gambler. If you’re traveling to one of the cities with Total Rewards hotels, you will undoubtedly benefit from your Total Rewards Diamond status.
Total Rewards Properties
NEW JERSEY
Atlantic City
- Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino
- Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino
- Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City Hotel & Casino
NEVADA
Las Vegas
- Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
- Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel and Casino
- The Cromwell Hotel Las Vegas
- Flamingo Hotel and Casino Las Vegas
- Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
- The LINQ Hotel & Casino
- Nobu Hotel Las Vegas
- Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
- Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino
- Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
NEVADA (OTHER)
Lake Tahoe
- Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino
- Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino
Laughlin
- Harrah’s Laughlin Hotel & Casino*
Reno
- Harrah’s Reno Hotel & Casino
ARIZONA
Maricopa/Phoenix
- Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel and Casino
CALIFORNIA
San Diego North (Valley Center)
- Harrah’s Resort Southern California
ILLINOIS
Joliet
- Harrah’s Joliet Hotel and Casino
Metropolis
- Harrah’s Metropolis Casino & Hotel
INDIANA
Anderson
- Hoosier Park Racing & Casino
Elizabeth
- Horseshoe Southern Indiana Hotel and Casino
Hammond
- Horseshoe Hammond
Shelbyville
- Indiana Grand Racing & Casino
IOWA
Council Bluffs
- Harrah’s Council Bluffs Hotel and Casino
LOUISIANA
Bossier City
- Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Casino and Racetrack
- Horseshoe Bossier City Hotel & Casino
New Orleans
- Harrah’s New Orleans
MARYLAND
Baltimore
- Horseshoe Baltimore Maryland Casino
MISSISSIPPI
Biloxi
- Harrah’s Gulf Coast Biloxi Casino Hotel
Tunica
- Horseshoe Tunica Hotel & Casino
- Tunica Roadhouse
MISSOURI
Kansas City
- Harrah’s North Kansas City Hotel and Casino
NORTH CAROLINA
Cherokee
- Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort
Murphy
- Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel
PENNSYLVANIA
Chester
- Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack (no hotel)
ONTARIO, CANADA
Windsor
- Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino
Notable Total Rewards Diamond Benefits
Here are the most important (IMHO) benefits (and here is the full list):
- Free or discounted hotel stays
- No resort fees on any hotel stay
- 20% discounts at casino gift shops
- Complimentary valet & self-parking, including Las Vegas and Atlantic City
- $100 Celebration Dinner
- 20% discounts on Norwegian cruises (Insides To Suites)
- Access to Diamond Lounges (CLOSED FOR NOW DUE TO COVID-19)
- Priority lines at hotel check-in, restaurants, casino cages, and the Total Rewards Center
- Priority lines for cabs and valet parking
- Free access to spas in Vegas ($20 at Caesars)
Complimentary stay at Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas
- Complimentary 4-night stay in the Beach Tower (Peak) or Royal Towers (off-peak) including hotel room taxes (but not the resorts fees)
- Up to 2 additional nights at a Special Casino Rate of $65/night plus taxes & fees
- $100 Free Slot Play
- Atlantis Casino Experience Pass
- Access to Aquaventure, a one-of-a-kind 141-acre waterscape with 20 swimming areas and 11 pools
Let’s take a closer look at some of these.
Free or discounted hotel stays
You can get comped rooms (mostly in Vegas), but the funny thing about this benefit is that you don’t have to be Total Rewards Diamond to get it. You’ll get the offers as soon as he joined. I do believe, though, that Diamond gives you more comped and better discounted offers. Here are some of my observations (but keep in mind that I haven’t given them any play yet):
- I’ve only found free stays in Las Vegas and Reno, not Atlantic City, nor anywhere else.
- I’ve noticed some nice (but not crazy) discounts in Atlantic City compared to regular rates.
- You get free Vegas offers for Sunday to Thursday for the current and the following month. For example, right now I see offers for November and December, and nothing for January.
- The hotels with free offers are: Lynq, Rio, Flamingo, Harrah’s, and Bally’s. Planet Hollywood and Paris are rare, and Caesars – extremely rare. Nobu and Cromwell — yeah, right!
No resorts fees
This is probably the most important of all Total Rewards Diamond benefits. Resort fees can run from $25 in Atlantic City to almost $50 in Las Vegas. This is an awesome and very tangible benefit.
$100 Celebration Dinner
I don’t know about Vegas, but in Atlantic City you don’t need to print a voucher. Just show them the card, and voila! Enlarge to see the hotels.
Access to Diamond Lounges
True, the access rules have changed after 2018 Total Rewards devaluation, but don’t despair! Per Travelzork,
Devaluing Diamond status further are the new national requirements for entry into their Diamond Lounges. As of 2018, Diamond status (attained at 15,000 tier credits) will not be enough for free admission into the Diamond Lounges. A Diamond member will need to have at least 25,000 tier credits in the current year, or year prior, to gain free admission. Any Diamond member beneath that threshold will be required to pay 1000 Reward Credits (worth $10) per person. Cash will not be accepted, Reward Credits are the only official way to gain admission.
Sucks, right? Yes, but there is a way to get a few thousand Reward Credits without play (later about that).
Complimentary stay at Atlantis
This is relatively straightforward. You can’t book your stay online – you need to call Atlantis Casino VIP Services at 800-752-9711, 7 days a week, from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm ET. Keep in mind, though, that you must book before your membership expires on December 31, 2018, and complete your travel by January 31, 2019.
Here is some important Atlantis information. Check this page for complete T&C.
The Atlantis Casino Experience Pass includes: shallow water dolphin interaction, round of golf, sushi and sake sampler platter at Nobu, two cocktails at Olives, two cocktails at Seafire Steakhouse.
Resort fee includes: WiFi in rooms and hotel lobbies (up to 4 devices), access to fitness center (2 guests per day), 2 bottled waters per day per room, unlimited access to the movie theater, coffee and tea in room, casino lessons daily, shuttle between towers.
The resort fee is $49.95 plus a $3.75 VAT charge per room per night, totaling $53.70 per room per night.
Off Peak months are May, June, September, October & January. Additional Peak days may occur during these months.
How to get access to Diamond Lounges without gambling away a fortune
There are 2 ways to get the Reward Credits you need to access the lounge. One is free, another way will cost you (but not much).
The Comenity Total Rewards Visa Card has no annual fee and offers 10,000 Rewards Credits after spending $750 in the first 90 days. In addition, it earns 5x Reward Credits per $1 spent at Total Rewards resorts. And it’s Comenity. Not Chase, City, or Amex.
Another way to earn TR Reward Credits is to transfer Wyndham points at a 1 to 1 ratio. No points? Buy them at $13 for $1,000 points. You can buy up to 10,000 Wyndham Rewards points per year.
Is access to Diamond Lounge worth paying $13 for access? I would presume so, depending on the particular hotel, but I’ve never been. However, Miles To Memories has a nice review of the TR Diamond lounges in Vegas.
But my Total Rewards Diamond status expires on January 31…
It does indeed, but the Wyndham Rewards Diamond status works for 3 months. You might be able to match it again after it expires. And then match your Total Rewards Diamond back to Wyndham after the Wyndham Diamond expires.
Will it work? Hopefully, but even if not, we could try to match back from other casinos. And if nothing works, you’re still getting a nearly free vacation in the Bahamas. I think it’s worth a try.
Do you use Total Rewards Diamond benefits? What’s your favorite one?
Next: My Atlantic City Status Match Adventure — Part 3: MGM M life Gold Benefits IN DEPTH!
