Caesars Total Rewards vs. MGM Mlife

[Dan Druff]

Here is a comparison between Total Rewards (Caesars) and Mlife (MGM)....

Total Rewards has 4 levels: Gold (entry), Platinum, Diamond, and Seven Stars

Mlife has 5 levels: Sapphire (entry), Pearl, Gold, Platinum, Noir

You reach these levels by earning tier credits. However, the tier credits are very different between the two property groups.

Total Rewards:
$10 slots coin-in earns 2 tier credits
$10 VP coin-in earns 1 tier credit
* Certain high-return VP machines will only earn as little as 0.2 tier credits per $10 at some properties

Mlife:
$10 slots coin-in earns 33.3 tier credits
$10 VP coin-in earns 10 tier credits
* Certain slot machines (with high licensing fees) only earn 10 tier credits per $10

This gives the appearance that Mlife is way better, but you also need a lot more tier credits to earn each level. Below is an approximate equivalency for each tier level at the two property groups. Note that I am listing coin-in for "typical" VP, and not slots.

TR Gold = Mlife Sapphire (both 0 coin-in)

TR Platinum ($50,000 coin-in) = Mlife Pearl ($25,000 coin-in) and Mlife Gold ($75,000 coin-in)

TR Diamond ($150,000 coin-in) = Mlife Platinum ($200,000 coin-in)

TR Seven Stars ($1,500,000 coin-in) = Mlife Noir (invite only)

It is important to understand that the TR coin-in can be reduced by as much as a factor of 3 by earning 'bonus' tier credits for heavy play in one day. So you can get to Diamond for just $50,000 coin-in, and Seven Stars for $500,000 coin-in.

It is also important to understand that Noir is "invite only", and it is up to Mlife whether you get there. It is not clear to me what criteria is used to invite you, but it is likely based upon per-trip theoretical loss, meaning it's not good for people who are grinding VP just to get the tier level. It is also possible they won't invite you to the program if you use too many comps and don't generate enough theoretical loss.

Seven Stars also masquerades as "invite only", but it isn't really. While you are not guaranteed Seven Stars at 150,000 tier credits, they tend to approve everyone who doesn't have outstanding marker debt and is in good standing at their properties.

Given all of the above, it is easier to make the Seven Stars tiers than the MGM tiers.

Putting that aside for the moment, let's look at the benefits. I will do that in my next post.

[Dan Druff]

There are various benefits to both programs.

First off, you earn comp points through your play. At Total Rewards, you earn Rewards Credits (RCs). At Mlife, you earn Express Comps. Each RC and Express Comp is worth a penny, usable among their respective properties.

You earn 1 RC per $5 bet in slots.
You earn 1 RC per $10 bet in VP.
You earn 1 Express comp point per $3 bet in slots.
You earn 1 Express comp point for $10 bet in VP.

So you earn more Express Comps in slots (67% more, except at certain licensed slots) than you do with RCs at Total Rewards. In VP, it's the same at both places.

However, don't get too excited about the better Express Comps at Mlife. In general, Express Comps and RCs accumulate very slowly. For every $1,000,000 wagered at VP, you earn $1000 in RCs or Express Comps! Laughable! At slots it's 2-3.3 times better, but still lousy. So it's not really a big factor.

I will say that Express Comps can be redeemd 1:1 for freeplay, whereas RCs can't (at best you get 1.25:1, and never better than 1.75:1 if you're not a Seven Stars).

Overall Express Comps are better, but since you don't accumulate that many, it's not a large factor.

Now let's look at the tier level benefits.

Here is a summary of Mlife benefits: https://www.mlife.com/pages/overview.html

Here is a summary of Total Rewards benefits: https://www.totalrewards.com/TotalRe...age=trBenefits

In case you don't feel like reading all of that, here is my breakdown of the relevant parts:

(I will skip Gold/Sapphire as they don't require any play to "earn".)

First let's look at TR Platinum vs. Mlife Pearl/Gold:

TR Platinum:
- 15% discount at Gift Shops
- Some priority lines
- Status match on WSOP.com to "Platinum", which is 12% rakeback

Mlife Pearl and Mlife Gold:
- Tier Multiplier – 10% (Pearl) or 20% (Gold) bonus on Points and Express Comps
- 10% Discount at Participating Retail Shops
- Buffet Line Pass (Las Vegas Resorts)
- Priority Hotel Check-in Line (Gold)
- VIP Line Access to Nightclubs and Pool Day Clubs for You and a Guest (Gold)

Bottom line is that neither of these are very useful. I call it a wash between the two programs.



Next we will look at TR Diamond vs. Mlife Platinum:

TR Diamond:
- All of the Platinum benefits listed above
- No resort fees during hotel stays
- 20% discount at Gift Shops
- Can exchange RCs for freeplay at the rate of $1 per 175 RCs (lower tiers it's $1 per 200 RCs)
- Priority valet parking (from personal experience, this is hit-and-miss though)
- Free access to "Diamond Lounges" where you can get free snacks and drinks, including alcohol
- Special lines at cashier and restaurants
- Special VIP check-in area
- Ability to use Diamond Room (same as payout room) to buy in to WSOP events
- Status match on WSOP.com to "Diamond", which is 15% rakeback
- Ability to cut in waiting list line at live WSOP cash games
- 20% discount on Norwegian Cruises
- Additional benefits if you become a "higher level Diamond"
- Free parking in Atlantic City

Mlife Platinum:
- All benefits of Mlife Pearl and Gold
- Tier Multiplier - 30% bonus on points and Express Comps™
- Priority Valet and Taxi Service
- 15% Discount or more at Participating Retail Shops
- VIP nightclub access
- Spa/salon priority reservations

These have some benefits that are worthwhile.

However, as you can see, Diamond is superior. You get more types of priority lines, plus access to Diamond Lounges. Mlife's one advantage is the 30% bonus you get when earning Express Comps, whereas you don't get any kind of RC bonus at Diamons (or any TR level, for that matter).

Many people simply strive for Diamond at Caesars properties, because most priority lines and lounges are for "Diamond and Seven Stars", so many don't see the point of earning Seven Stars.

To be honest, both of these lists of comps are underwhelming, though the priority lines can be useful when it's crowded.




Finally, let's look at the top tier levels, TR Seven Stars and Mlife Noir.

TR Seven Stars:
- All of the Diamond benefits
- Exchange RCs for freeplay at the rate of $1 per 125 RCs
- Free hotel nights (up to 4-5 consecutive) at any Caesar's property, provided you book 48 hours in advance
- Trip to any Caesar's property with up to $1200 airfare covered and $500 in food credit (one per year)
- "Free" Norwegian Cruise (actually heavily discounted) with Balcony stateroom (one per year)
- Gift from catalog worth about $200
- $500 single meal at a Caesar's owned restaurant (one per year)
- "Signature Event" to choose from
- 35% discount on Norwegian Cruises
- 25% discount at Gift Shops
- Special allowances by request, such as squeezing you into certain full restaurants (you need to ask for these, and will be provided at their discretion)
- Status match to "Seven Stars" on WSOP.com, meaning 30% rakeback
- Limousine from airport at certain properties
- Free upgrade to better room types, if available (but usually not suites)
- Access to Seven Stars lounges at certain properties
- Free internet and in-room movies at most properties

Mlife Noir:
- Everything from Pearl/Gold/Platinum
- Tier Multiplier - 40% bonus on points and Express Comps™
- Complimentary Limousine Service To / From Airport
- Guaranteed Room, Show, and Restaurant Reservations
- "Best Table Available" at restaurants

There is no comparison between these two programs! Seven Stars is FAR superior!

Notice that Seven Stars gives you a number of FREE benefits -- the trip, the cruise (well, mostly free), the meal, the gift, and most importantly, the guaranteed FREE rooms in all markets. Mlife does not get you anything free, as you can see above. You get "guaranteed room reservations" -- but you have to pay for them, unless your host comps them!

This is why TR is far superior at the highest level. You get things which are tangible, whereas Mlife gives you nothing tangible, and just priority status to buy things.


So what about offers and comps? Is Mlife better? Is TR better? That I don't know, because I have no way to compare them. Perhaps someone else can chime in here.

But as far as the tier statuses go, there's no question that I prefer TR, especially at the upper levels.

[Sanlmar]

Caesars Ferris wheel & $600 million dollar Macau golf course. Epic fails.

So many grinders start out at other casinos but end up at Caesars because of the rewards program.

Daughter flew home for holidays. We were asking her wether she cooks - "What do you do about food?"

She lives in one of the towers close to the strip. Works at Zappos in town, which still has that Silicon Vally .com approach with workers. Free cafeteria 24/7. Lol, pitch & putt golf course on roof. Zappos still has to be the best employer in Vegas even after being acquired by Amazon.

She and her boyfriend used to play at Aria but moved over to Caesars and got Diamond status and regularly meet up to eat for free in the Diamond Lounge.

She says if you live in Vegas the opportunities with food cannot be matched anywhere else on earth. Says she gained 20lbs since moving there.

Free shows with the Diamond status. She saw Recycled Percussion the night she flew out. She told me this was more of a kids show. She said that was a laugh. Perfect for your son, Ben. They hand out pots & pans to the audience and you can imagine how that worked out.

[Dan Druff]

Caesars Ferris wheel & $600 million dollar Macau golf course. Epic fails.

So many grinders start out at other casinos but end up at Caesars because of the rewards program.

Daughter flew home for holidays. We were asking her wether she cooks - "What do you do about food?"

She lives in one of the towers close to the strip. Works at Zappos in town, which still has that Silicon Vally .com approach with workers. Free cafeteria 24/7. Lol, pitch & putt golf course on roof. Zappos still has to be the best employer in Vegas even after being acquired by Amazon.

She and her boyfriend used to play at Aria but moved over to Caesars and got Diamond status and regularly meet up to eat for free in the Diamond Lounge.

She says if you live in Vegas the opportunities with food cannot be matched anywhere else on earth. Says she gained 20lbs since moving there.

Free shows with the Diamond status. She saw Recycled Percussion the night she flew out. She told me this was more of a kids show. She said that was a laugh. Perfect for your son, Ben. They hand out pots & pans to the audience and you can imagine how that worked out.

Ask her why Zappos is killing store credit.

I keep getting weird messages from them that I have to either spend my store credit or get a check for it (but I have to request the latter.)

[Sanlmar]

Ask her why Zappos is killing store credit.

I keep getting weird messages from them that I have to either spend my store credit or get a check for it (but I have to request the latter.)

I can't believe you just asked that question. She and I had quite the argument at dinner about Bitcoin.

All credits at Zappos are being awarded in BITCOIN.

[Sanlmar]

Link with message from CEO.

http://www.zappos.com/breaking-news

This Tony Hseih is crazy brilliant. Daughter tells me there are people who take the Zappos tour just to steal a clue about what he might be thinking about. Hsieh groupies.

The passage below requires at bit of explanation for those not in Vegas
In a shocking turn of events Zappos has announced all downtown establishments will begin to accept bitcoin as its only form of payment, causing customers and employees to flock to downtown Las Vegas hoping to cash in on their returns.

Hseih seems to posses some utopian vision. He started the Downtown Project. For example, he bought the Golden Spike and developed housing above it. The units share a "community kitchen". Inhabitants must use a common/shared kitchen so that you must get to know your neighbor and develop a sense of community.

Hseih and the Downtown project have opened bars and businesses downtown. These are the Bitcoin only purchases referenced.

He started a car sharing business called Swift. Kinda self explanatory. Utopian shit.

The Zappos building is filled with egghead misfits. They come to work in pajamas and dreadlocks. Flex hours and crazy benefits. Like a cult they all worship this guy as a god. He can do no wrong.

My daughter, especially since she is so young, is one of those who will take a Bitcoin paycheck cause Tony Hseih thinks it's a good idea. Thus, the debate at dinner.

Lol, daughter came home with dreadlocks. I kid you not.