Total Rewards has changed their Tier Credit requirements effective January 1,2013. This has caused a bit of unrest in some circles.  The casual player will not see a change, though.  The way you earn credits has not changed. The perks of having a Total Rewards card, like the dining discounts, have not changed. The basic Gold level actually has a new benefit of a 10% discount at the casino gift shop.

The change applies to how you earn higher tiers, like Platinum, Diamond and Seven Stars.
The new Tier requirements are:

• Gold: still free
• Platinum: 5000 Tier Credits
• Diamond: 15,000 Tier Credits
• Seven Star: 150,000 Tier Credits

They have also added some intermediate levels within the Diamond Tier, which give you a free 4-night stay at a Total Rewards destination when you achieve 40,000 Tier Credits (Diamond Level II). If you reach 80,000 Tier Credits (Diamond Level III) they will cover your airfare, too (up to $750).

While the Tier Credit requirement is higher than it had been, they are making it a little easier to achieve those levels by adding Bonus Tier Credits when you reach certain play levels within a gaming day. There are 3 bonus levels.

• Earn 500 Tier Credits and you get a bonus of 125 extra Tier Credits.
• Earn 1000 Tier Credits and you get a bonus of 1000 extra Tier Credits.
• Earn 2500 Tier Credits and you get a bonus of 5000 extra Tier Credits.

As you can see, the bonuses rise exponentially with the higher levels of play.  Only the highest bonus earned will be awarded. Earning 1500 Tier Credits in one gaming day will get you an extra 1000 Tier credits (from the 1000 Tier Credit level bonus). It will not get you 1125 extra Tier Credits (125 from the 500 Tier Credit level and 1000 from the 1000 Tier Credit level). Also note that these bonus Tier Credits do not increase your Reward Credit (or comps) total. They are purely for achieving a higher tier.

I like the new arrangement.  It does make achieving a higher tier the slow and steady way (a little play over many, many days) a bit more of a challenge, but it makes earning a higher tier a bit easier if you are willing to focus your play on single days. This fits into my standard trip really well since I tend to play big for a day (maybe two) and then relax and enjoy the other things Las Vegas has to offer for the rest of the days.

For a complete overview of the Total Rewards players club, read my Total Rewards Overview post.