I had to laugh as once again Caesar's (formerly called Harrah's - I'm
having trouble remember to say Caesars) spent a lot of money on printing up an
overdone booklet announcing its new 7 Star benefits for 2011. They could
have sent me a coupon for $100 in free play and a sheet or two of regular
paper and I would have been more impressed.
Also had to laugh as they promoted some changes they seemed to think were
beneficial - such as CUTTING down the usual yearly gift selection of over
20 items, to just 4. This time "the very best." Yep, a selection of 4 is
always better than a selection of 20 choices! What if I don't need any of
them - and I don't - I already have a blue-ray player and an Ipad, and a
digital camera, so that eliminates the need for any of the 4 new items:
blu-ray player, Ipod Nano 8 bg, Nikon Coolpix s3100 camera, and Kindle. Yet
again some more gifts to give away to relatives -- that doesn't really make
ME happy.
They've also cut back on the selection of the new "Signature Experiences"
for various levels of play over 125,000 base points. Most don't include
airfare. One of the nicest Level I looked to be Tunica, which included $1500
airfare, but also a Memphis Grizzlies basketball game - unfortunately
neither my husband nor I are sports fans. Couldn't they include any sort of
replacement option for non-sports fans such as spa or food credits? Many of
them are once again date-dependant, such as New Orleans Jazz Festival or
Tahoe 4th of July. So if you don't make a Level until the last half of the
year, too bad, you've missed that event. Also no Experiences for Biloxi --
and we loved the great Signature II we had there (6 hours of spa treatments
for a couple) -- we loved it so much that when both my husband and I got
over 200,000 points, we both did it (2 separate trips). But woops - no
incentive for me this year.
Someone asked me if these are additions to the list of last year's
experiences, but no, they seem to be replacements. They are heavy on sports and
golf oriented adventures - obviously marketing isn't realizing how many 7*
members are women or men who have wives who don't golf, and how many 7*
people are over age 50 and might prefer a spa or show oriented Experience, but
then again, whoever said that Caesars had a smart marketing department --
not me!
As you hit the various levels you can take additional Experiences, so if
you hit 125,000 base you qualify for Level I, then hit 200,000, you qualify
for Level I and Level II and can do both. And so on.
One slight improvement in offerings - 7* members now get a mostly free
cruise (you pay taxes, fees, and gratutites) on Norwegian Epic in balcony for
the Caribbean, and oceanview on other sailings to Alaska, bermuda, and
Bahamas. Call direct to 1877-742-9521 to book. Presumably cruise must be
taken between March 31 2011 and March 31 2012.
Other 7* goodies include a $500 dinner once a year, a trip to any Caesar's
property (includes $500 folio credit and up to $1200 in coach airfare for
up to 2 people), complimentary rooms, and a companion card (a 7* companion
card to get 1 special friend or relative have access to Diamond Lounges and
such).
This year there will be 3 "Seven Star Signature Events" -- June in Atlantic
City, August in Lake Tahoe, October in New Orleans. No details given, no
specific dates. Go to _www.SignatureEvents2011.com_
(http://www.SignatureEvents2011.com) for more information (if any).
Too bad they didn't announce the dates - June is probably out for me, since
we are going to Europe (mostly Switzerland) and a Greek Island cruise (one
of those NCL mostly-free cruises) around then. Some people weren't too
happy with the declining value of last year's Signature Events, so we will
have to see if they do anything to improve them this year, such as including
7X points and free airfare or other similar benefits which made some of the
earlier Signatures worth attending.
If you are 7* member for 2011 (starting March 31) and haven't received this
booklet, contact your host to make sure your membership is effective.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
