Last week I highlighted the key benefits of the MGM Rewards Mastercard. Today, I’ll look at the Caesars Rewards Visa Card. Many of the perks are similar, but there’s one key difference: Caesars Rewards does not give you tier credits for your credit card spend.
The Basics
Your earnings on the card is solely Rewards Credits, which is Caesars Rewards’ comp dollars. The breakdown is a bit more generous:
- 5x Reward Credits per $1 at Caesars Rewards resorts and casinos, as well as show and event tickets through the Caesars Rewards Live Events portal
- 3x Reward Credits per $1 spend through the Caesars Rewards Dining program (non-cardholders earn 1x per $1)
- 2x Reward Credits per $1 spend through airlines, gas stations and supermarkets
- 1x Reward Credits per $1 for everything else
So, you do earn a bit faster when spending at resorts then you do with MGM, but you don’t get tier credits and it’s still a baseline of 1x per $1. Other cards will earn more, so there’s that trade-off. But since Reward Credits can expire after 6 months of inactivity, it’s one of the easier ways to maintain activity if you don’t visit all that often.
There is a signing bonus where if you make $750 in non-Caesars purchases in the first six months, you get 10,000 Reward Credits, worth up to $100, on top of the baseline earnings for that spend, which would be at least 750 Reward Credits. I say “up to” because many restaurants are 2:1 redemption, as is free play redemption, so it could be only $50 depending on what you use it on.
New cardholders also get a one-time buffet pass, or it can be exchanged for a $20 dining credit at a few specific properties. Unfortunately with many buffets remaining closed since the casino reopenings, and Eldorado (Caesars’ new owner) frowning on the idea of buffets, this perk may be worthless in the future.
The card is a no annual fee card, but unlike MGM does not reference no foreign transaction fees.
The card gives you Platinum status after your first purchase. That can be maintained for $5,000 in spend each year; this is different from Mlife in that you get Pearl automatically as a cardholder as long as you remain one.
For $10,000 in spend you get VIP line access in Las Vegas at “certain” restaurants, as well as taxi lines and hotel check-in. You also get preferred entry in “participating” nightclubs, as well as all pools. This could be helpful if you’re a lower tier player and visiting Las Vegas regularly.
My Thoughts
Like a lot of things between MGM and Caesars right now, the MGM card, even being not the best, far outweighs the Caesars card in benefits:
- You earn tier credits, not just comp dollars
- The points you earn have more value overall since the free play conversion is 1:1, and Express Comps are many times easier to redeem at full value
- You maintain your status without having to spend a certain amount
The Caesars card does give you more on-site value, so if you visit a lot, that’s helpful, but if you visit a lot, there’s also a higher likelihood you’re a higher tier, and many of the perks you get from the card are already given to you as a higher cardholder. And if you’re earning enough comps from your play, the small amount of extra Reward Credits probably won’t make or break you, especially when other travel or cash back cards will give you more value overall.
In my case, I’m Diamond, so the tier status booster doesn’t help, and I only visit Caesars properties a couple of times a year, so it doesn’t make much sense for me. And I have other cards that reward me similarly or better for much of the same spending types.
If you think the Caesars Rewards card is right for your needs, click here to visit Caesars’ website to learn more and apply.
