Tweet
Well, I don't think the dust has settled.
At least it has not settled in my mind yet.
However, here is what I think is happening. When I'm home from my road trips, I'll do some calling and try to nail down more details.
Key to thinking about this change are these two variables: Bookings prior to March 1. Metalic color of Player's card.
Any booking of any sort with any card made before March 1, cash or comped, is grandfathered into the NO resort fees, but that also means none of the resort fee amenities can be had. You can add a resort fee, but not just for one night. You have to add for your entire trip.
Any booking with a Platinum card or above will not incur resort fees. I am certain of this for comped rooms. If paying cash, I'd call and double check. Before you get all psyched up to get to Platinum, however, just count what you are short paid on a video poker machine in CET versus one at the Four Queens (even without the $12.50 American Casino Guide point doubling coupon) Play a 9/6 double bonus video poker and every time you hit a full house or a flush, add $2.25 to your losses. It won't take long for you to see that these Platinum folks have been milked of the resort fees over and over again.
And yes, comped rooms fall into those parameters. Gold Card members are just going to pay through the nose for amenities that the Platinum players get for free. Well, sort of free if you forget what flaying they had to endure to become Platinum.
As I put in another post, signing up for the free Total Rewards credit card will give you a way to protect points beyond the six months and make you Platinum for a year.
If you like Treasure Island, call and ask if there is a way to book and avoid the Resort Fee by booking directly with the casino. Rumor is that the Resort Fee can be sidestepped with certain booking deals.
If you have a host at any CET property, call them. Traditionally hosts were able to waive resort fees as another benefit for a certain level of play. Be careful. Never play poor games thinking only of comps. You can't make that balance. Low level players should include comps in the overall EV of a game but not overplay. $20 of JOB at the Boars Head Bar in MSS in order to score two Black Chip Porter microbrews brings the EV of that game over the 100% level. Hours of play on player unfriendly machines to save resort fees does not.
Note that as far as I have read, use of the pools are not listed as a resort fee amenity and so I'd assume they were still open to any guest. When I stayed at the Quad last year, I walked across to Caesar's and used their pool. It was very nice and totally welcomed.
***********************************
Since the strip is now full of resort fees whereever you go, think about off strip. Even going just as far as the Gold Coast will bring the fees down and Terrible's, Super 8, Eastside Cannery, LVH all have no fees as does most of Downtown. It does not take much play at the D for example to get two for one rooms that in many cases mean staying for about $15 a night and no resort fee added to that. You have the American Casino Guide coupon for two nights at that rate as well.
For low end Vegas visitors the resort fee can double the cost of the room while for high end players, it is just a small percentage of the total charge.
If you are a frugal traveler, the casinos are always trying to find a way to sort you out of those they attract, so they keep changing the rules. This resort fee change is no exception. CET leans on the low end gambler to either put more at risk or go stay somewhere else. El Cortez leaned on low rollers by adding a hefty fee for more than 7 nights in a calendar month. Remember you tools of frugality:
American Casino Guide coupons
Checking the Vegas Values Report for you week of visit:
Vegas Values
Discussion here on angles and ideas for deals
MyVegas freebies
15/30 day RCT bus passes for transportation
online coupons
At least it has not settled in my mind yet.
However, here is what I think is happening. When I'm home from my road trips, I'll do some calling and try to nail down more details.
Key to thinking about this change are these two variables: Bookings prior to March 1. Metalic color of Player's card.
Any booking of any sort with any card made before March 1, cash or comped, is grandfathered into the NO resort fees, but that also means none of the resort fee amenities can be had. You can add a resort fee, but not just for one night. You have to add for your entire trip.
Any booking with a Platinum card or above will not incur resort fees. I am certain of this for comped rooms. If paying cash, I'd call and double check. Before you get all psyched up to get to Platinum, however, just count what you are short paid on a video poker machine in CET versus one at the Four Queens (even without the $12.50 American Casino Guide point doubling coupon) Play a 9/6 double bonus video poker and every time you hit a full house or a flush, add $2.25 to your losses. It won't take long for you to see that these Platinum folks have been milked of the resort fees over and over again.
And yes, comped rooms fall into those parameters. Gold Card members are just going to pay through the nose for amenities that the Platinum players get for free. Well, sort of free if you forget what flaying they had to endure to become Platinum.
As I put in another post, signing up for the free Total Rewards credit card will give you a way to protect points beyond the six months and make you Platinum for a year.
If you like Treasure Island, call and ask if there is a way to book and avoid the Resort Fee by booking directly with the casino. Rumor is that the Resort Fee can be sidestepped with certain booking deals.
If you have a host at any CET property, call them. Traditionally hosts were able to waive resort fees as another benefit for a certain level of play. Be careful. Never play poor games thinking only of comps. You can't make that balance. Low level players should include comps in the overall EV of a game but not overplay. $20 of JOB at the Boars Head Bar in MSS in order to score two Black Chip Porter microbrews brings the EV of that game over the 100% level. Hours of play on player unfriendly machines to save resort fees does not.
Note that as far as I have read, use of the pools are not listed as a resort fee amenity and so I'd assume they were still open to any guest. When I stayed at the Quad last year, I walked across to Caesar's and used their pool. It was very nice and totally welcomed.
***********************************
Since the strip is now full of resort fees whereever you go, think about off strip. Even going just as far as the Gold Coast will bring the fees down and Terrible's, Super 8, Eastside Cannery, LVH all have no fees as does most of Downtown. It does not take much play at the D for example to get two for one rooms that in many cases mean staying for about $15 a night and no resort fee added to that. You have the American Casino Guide coupon for two nights at that rate as well.
For low end Vegas visitors the resort fee can double the cost of the room while for high end players, it is just a small percentage of the total charge.
If you are a frugal traveler, the casinos are always trying to find a way to sort you out of those they attract, so they keep changing the rules. This resort fee change is no exception. CET leans on the low end gambler to either put more at risk or go stay somewhere else. El Cortez leaned on low rollers by adding a hefty fee for more than 7 nights in a calendar month. Remember you tools of frugality:
American Casino Guide coupons
Checking the Vegas Values Report for you week of visit:
Vegas Values
Discussion here on angles and ideas for deals
MyVegas freebies
15/30 day RCT bus passes for transportation
online coupons
Comment