How to Earn Comps in Las Vegas – See My (low roller) Offers!

Key Points:

• As a low-roller, I can almost always score a free room in Vegas, sans resort fees.

• Consolidating your play in one loyalty program per day can make you appear more valuable.

• Never. I repeat, never play outside of your comfort zone to chase comps. It’s a losing proposition.

One of the most common questions posed by folks new to Vegas revolves around “comps” or freebies from the casino in the form of rooms, shows, food & drink, or even merchandise.

The first step is to sign up for your preferred loyalty program and use your card when playing or spending on property. Put bluntly, that’ll allow the resort to get a feel for your worth to their business. 

Let’s start by defining some key terms you’ll undoubtedly come across as you navigate programs.

Earning Tier Credits and Reward Points

Tier Credits

The two major loyalty programs on the Strip are MGM Rewards (MGM Resorts properties) and Caesars Rewards (Caesars Entertainment properties).

In both programs, you earn Tier Credits that count toward status upgrades within the respective programs.

Along with status upgrades in each program come additional perks like free parking, resort fee waivers, free early check-in/out, access to lounges, complimentary room upgrades, etc.  

Points

In addition to tier credits, members of both loyalty programs also earn a separate set of points that carry a cash value redeemable for things like meals, shows, free play, merch, and my favorite, gift shop beers.

This separate point system is referred to as Reward Credits (Caesars) and Rewards Points (MGM).  

MGM also has a separate “Slot Dollars” bucket of money that can be used as free play. Slot dollars are accumulated by (you guessed it!) playing slots.

Below, is a screenshot of the MGM Rewards phone app that shows my current “Rewards Points” and “Slot Dollars” balances. As you can tell, I’m ballin’.

And here is my Caesars Rewards account, showing the equivilent of $19.53 in comps (1,953 Reward Credits).

On occasion, loyalty programs will offer Tier Credit or Reward Credit/Point multiplier events, typically during slow times, that’ll allow you to accumulate at a faster clip.

You’ll typically recieve an email about those types of events.

Earning Free & Discounted Rooms

Players receive free or discounted room offers based on their spend at properties within a respective program.

Once you sign up for and use a player’s card you’ll receive offers via email or snail mail for free slot tournaments, free slot play, food & drink comps, trips to Laughlin, free rooms, etc.

Additionally, when you log into your program’s booking website, hotel pricing is tailored specifically to you and is based on your gaming habits.

Even as a low roller, you can expect discounted rates when booking directly with Caesars and MGM as compared to 3rd party booking websites, and will often receive free room night offers midweek and during slow times.

Mid to high-rollers will rarely pay for hotel rooms in Vegas.

Comp offers are based on your theoretical expected loss, calculated by how much money you typically run through games (referred to in the biz as “coin in” or “handle) and what the house edge is on those games.  

Below is what my Caesars Entertainment room rate calendar looks like as a low roller – A lot of “COMP”s and discounted rates.

Often, complimentary rooms are paired with “resort credit” or a “food & beverage credit” redeemable at the resort.

Based on my play within the MGM Rewards program, I’ve earned the offers below that include complimentary hotel rooms, free play, and even resort credits that can be spent on food & beverages.

TIP: Concentrate your play at a single property or group of properties in the same program to inflate your value.

As an example, don’t bounce around and spread your play between 2 or 3 loyalty programs daily.

Instead, spend a single day gaming at Caesars properties, a day at MGM properties, etc. Doing this will make you look more lucrative and they’ll be more likely to want you back for more.  

If your play is significant, a casino host may introduce themselves as your contact going forward to discuss comp offers, etc. 

I chose to focus on the 2 largest loyalty programs, but they all operate similarly.

MGM Rewards vs. Caesars Rewards – Which offers better comps?

I actively play and stay at resorts within both loyalty programs and anecdotally feel I get slightly more “bang for the buck” with MGM Rewards.

While both offer similar hotel comps (# of nights, quality of property), MGM usually throws in a little free slot play and a small resort credit that covers a meal.

That said, offers from the two main Strip players are usually pretty comparable and I make an effort to maintain a loyalty relationship with both.

I recently did a deep comparison beteeen MGM and Caesars on YouTube, which demosntrated the better offers I recieve from MGM Rewards, but also digs into the quality of their hotel product.

Let’s just say, I lean MGM more and more each day.