I saw this question recently on a forum, and it was an interesting one. A player was wondering if they earn any tier credits while playing off their free play. You’re gambling, after all, but it’s technically not your money yet. The verdict?
STATUS: Generally, the answer is no. But I’ve seen rare exceptions.
I’m going to mark this as generally a no, and then share an exception I distinctly recall, just to be that guy that always can point out an exception to most rules.
First off, none of the major chains give you tier credits for freeplay. That means Mlife, Caesars and mychoice all behave in this manner.
Why? Well, generally speaking the first round is on the house. Generally speaking, free play offers have the rule you must bet through them once before they’re actually cash. They’re a gift to you from the casino. So you must bet through them entirely once to convert your free play into cash.
As such, that first pass is not cash yet, and if you’re not wagering cash, most programs will exempt that play from your tier credit earnings.
Once you’ve cycled it through once, it’s now cash, and if you keep playing, you’ll see your points accumulate. That’s how some players will keep track of when they’ve played through their free play, or are able to verify if they’ve lost track.
So that exception? Plaza Las Vegas, when I visited in June, gave me credit for my free play while playing it through. It wasn’t a lot of money, but I was surprised to see the counter going up even when playing with free play. When you encounter an exception like this, it’s a generous hat tip to the player – you shouldn’t expect this to be the norm.
So keep that in mind when visiting a casino – as I’ve said here in the past, free play is an extension of your bankroll. But if you’re trying to do a certain amount of coin-in for whatever reason, or needing to earn a certain number of tier credits to qualify for a promotion, remember that free play will be exempt from that tally in virtually all cases.
