Is the Time to Tier Up Now? Or in the New Year?

Reader James recently submitted this question via the comments on the site:

Quick Q – me and my gf want to become Diamond members (with Caesars Rewards). We currently have 5000 tier credits. Does it make more sense to get the extra 10,000 credits before the year is over, or to wait until Jan 2022?

From your explanation, it seems that if we become Diamond in Jan 2022, we will have the status until Jan 2024. VS. if we get Diamond now, it will expire in Jan 2023.

Sorry if this is confusing – let me know if you need any clarification. Thanks in advance

Hey James – thanks for the question. And to be honest, there’s not a right answer. So I’m going to offer a few notes and encourage you to make the best decision for yourself.

The year I first got Diamond, I earned the tier in September, which is when this post is going up, so it’s not to say it can’t be a good decision for you. But here’s a few things to think about:

Tier Credits Reset January 1

Your 5,000 tier credits will go away on January 1, regardless of which status you have. That’s because tier credits are your status scorecard, and the scorecard is wiped clean for Caesars Rewards at the beginning of each year.

So, if you want to achieve Diamond, it would take 10,000 tier credits now, or 15,000 tier credits in January. Keep in mind if you earn it this year, you get it next year, but if you want it beyond next year you have to still do the 15,000 tier credits next year.

Diamond Perks Kick in Immediately

Once you reach Diamond level at Caesars Rewards, Diamond perks such as waived resort fees and the $100 celebration dinner are available to you, and are renewed for the following year as well.

If you’re planning enough travel to Caesars properties as you complete this year and get into next year, the waived resort fees and celebration dinners are a concrete value that may make going for it now worth it.

Conversely, if you’re not going to make much of the perks for the remainder of this year, having to earn the 5,000 additional tier credits next year may be a small price to pay to not miss out on most of a year’s worth of perks.

Don’t Forget the Daily Bonuses

Caesars Rewards offers daily tier credit bonuses based on how many tier credits you earn in a day. Regardless of when you do this, the key ones to remember are 2,500 and 5,000.

If you earn 2,500 tier credits in a day, you get a 5,000 tier credit bonus; if you earn 5,000 tier credits in a day, you earn 10,000 tier credits (enough to earn Diamond in a day). So if you wish to minimize your gambling, using those bonuses can be helpful.

Watch for Other Promotions

If you’re on the fence, some properties (and sometimes they’ve done them nationally) tier credit multipliers have been offered. Those are available during small windows of time, and tier credit bonuses can be earned on the base earnings too.

Take the 5x tier credit promotion Caesars has done nationally a few times this year. That same 2,500 tier credits mentioned in the previous section would yield 10,000 multiplied tier credits, along with the 5,000 daily bonus, for a total of 17,500 – that’s Diamond for half the tier credits.

So visiting at the right time can also button things up that much faster.

So When Should You Do It?

If you can capture useful value by getting it sooner, there’s nothing wrong with closing things out now and having it through to next year. But if you’re not planning any immediate trips, or don’t have enough travel for the new year to make it worth capturing the value it offers, waiting until the new year may be more helpful.