Best Casino Rewards Program
For the casual gambler, a casino perk program is a great way to save a few dollars for a buffet dinner or gain the right to throw away another piece of junk mail. For the veteran gambler or the savvy traveler, a casino perk program is a magnificent way to save some money while getting down to gambling.
Plus, there are Reward Credits, which can be used at any one of 40 Total Rewards resorts and casinos around the world as comps for entertainment, dining, shopping, hotel stays and more. Total Rewards has long been considered one of the best casino comps programs in the United States. Allowing players to earn points at Caesars online in New. Get paid to read emails (not common among rewards programs) Cons: Must first spend $20 or more to get the registration bonus; More Rewards Apps To Earn Extra Money. Although we’ve already covered the first 10 best rewards apps, we decided to throw in a bonus to give you 15 more. Atlantic City casinos offer access to two of the largest casino loyalty clubs in the country. Players at Borgata Hotel & Casino can get in the M life Rewards Program, allowing them to earn and redeem rewards at close to a dozen Las Vegas Strip properties and a handful more across the US. VIP bonuses or rewards programs are loyalty bonus schemes aimed explicitly at high roller players. These casino bonuses aim to reward gamblers that spend tons of cash at a specific casino site with special prizes. Players who are not a part of the program cannot access these incredible prizes in any shape or form, making the program exclusive. Total Rewards from Caesars Entertainmen t has long been one of the best casino loyalty programs. This program allows players to earn points at any of the properties Caesars owns. This means that you can earn loyalty programs at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas or at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas.
Just about every casino out there offers some type of loyalty or perk program that will offer you discounts, rewards, coupons, etc. purely for signing up. Of course, the more you spend, gamble, or lose, the better the rewards and perks you’re likely to obtain.
Of course, not all perk programs are created equal. That’s why we decided to take a look at six different programs across the country to see what offers they might give. These offers are subject to change, but they give you an idea of what to expect when you sign up.
They can also be used as a guide for figuring out what to expect when you sign up for programs at casinos of roughly equivalent size. With that said, no matter when you gamble, sign up for their perk program. It only takes a few minutes and you’re going to get something that will save you money.
In the end, it’s always worth it.
M life Rewards
Of all the casino rewards programs, M life is arguably the most comprehensive, far reaching, and generous program amongst any perks program in the world. M life is the rewards program associated with the MGM Grand chain of hotels and, as such, has a reach as far and wide as MGM movies.
Why is it so comprehensive? First, the M life program travels with you.
You want to stay in Las Vegas? Stay at the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Circus Circus, etc. Is Atlantic City your destination? Stay at the Borgata. Not in the US? Party at the MGM Grand Macau or Cotai.
All of these hotels use the M life Rewards program, which means if you’re wherever the big hotels are, you can start earning rewards using M life.
What kind of rewards are available via M life? Well, the more you spend on hotels, dining, or gambling, the more points you get. Points can be spent on table games, slots, video poker, spa treatments, hotels, etc.
Also, M life has tiers. The more you spend, the higher your tier. The higher the tier, the more bonus points you receive and the more free stuff you get like complementary parking, priority check-in, and even free cruises for platinum members.
If you want to earn points even faster, there is an M life credit card so you can earn points for every dollar you spend.
Total Rewards
Total Rewards is another rewards program that covers a lot of different casinos, though they are only located in the continental United States. There aren’t quiet as many options for Total Rewards as in M life, but the hotels do include places like Caesars Palace, Rio Hotels and Suites, Nobu Hotel, etc.
Total Rewards does have one advantage, however. While it lacks an international footprint, it does offer a lot more casino options outside major gambling centers. For instance, you can find locations in Southern and Northern California, New Mexico, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, etc. Therefore, you can be adding on to your Total Rewards points outside of the major gambling areas.
Sadly, we all don’t live in Las Vegas or AC, so it’s nice to know we can be building up points in places that may be a little closer to home.
Like M life, Total Rewards has tiered benefits. At the lowest tier (Gold), members can get access to coupons and free vouchers, discounts at hotel buffet restaurants, etc. Higher tiers gain more access to special dinners, events, VIP hotlines, priority check in, etc. Seven Stars® members can also get free cruises, which is nice, too.
Fan Club
The Fan Club is very similar to Total Rewards in that it offers a great mix of local places to gamble and earn points with a few destination casinos thrown in for good measure. If you want Las Vegas hotels, you can use Fan Club at Eldorado, Circus Circus, and Silver Legacy. In Atlantic City, you can use this perks program at the Tropicana.
You can also find locations in Missouri, Tahoe, Greenville, MS, Black Hawk, CO, and other cities as well.
This gives you an even better chance of earning points no matter where you live. That makes this program one of the best for non-Vegas residents.
The giveaways are also nice, as you get the standard perks from other programs and, on certain days, free gift giveaways, which is not something you see with other programs.
Identity Membership and Rewards
Identity is the rewards club of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino. It’s definitely smaller in scope than some of the other casino rewards programs, but it makes up for it with its offerings and the transparency it gives to members.
If you want to know how to earn points in this program, it’s easy to figure out. Just go to the site and you can see how many points you receive for each dollar, then you can see how you redeem those points. It’s a nice touch.
With that said, you earn points through the standard means: spending money at spas, hotels, restaurants and stores, playing slots (with extra points for those at higher tiers), and playing poker.
Also, you can convert your points into Marriott Bonvoy points and use them to stay in other hotels, which is a nice perk.
The real advantage of Identity, though, is that the points accumulate quickly, especially if you can get to Sterling Tier, where you start earning double points on slots. That will only boost your point accumulation if you’re a slots player.
Affinity Gaming’s A-Play Club
Affinity Gaming is a series of casinos throughout the Midwest (including Missouri, Iowa, Colorado) and some smaller casinos in Nevada. A-Play is a smaller program, but it’s kind of the tiny lion that roars.
It offers a tiered reward structure, like the other programs, starting with a Red Card and ending in Platinum tier.
The nice thing about the A-Play Club is that they are transparent as well in how they give out points for activities (in this case, they all revolve around playing, not buying things). With that said, higher tier members get access to room discounts, event invites, point multipliers, VIP lines, waived fees, etc.
If you’re a fan of smaller casinos or aren’t in the Nevada area, this is a program you should strongly consider.
WinStar’s Club Passport
The WinStar is the largest casino in the United States (and just happens to be located in Oklahoma). They’re large enough that they offer Club Passport, a program that rewards you for playing and for winning.
Points are earned through play and can result in entries into special giveaways, backstage access to events, discounts on hotel rooms, golfing and meals at the Gran Via Buffet, and other benefits. You also can get free bonus play by signing up.
This program may be limited in scope, but if you ever plan to gamble in Oklahoma, this program offers tremendous benefits.
Conclusion
As you can see, nearly every casino out there either offers their own rewards program or is tied into the perks program of their corporate parent. What’s even more important is that none of the programs above cost any money to join, but all of them can save you money.
Really, the key to determining which is the right program for you is knowing where and how you gamble.
If you travel a lot and can’t commit to spending a lot of money at one casino, something like the Identity Program or Club Passport might not be for you because they focus on a small number of properties. Also, if you plan to gamble away from Las Vegas, M life may not be the best the option for you.
If you have a computer with autofill or about 10 minutes to spare, you can sign up for all of these programs and start earning casino comps.
Then, it really becomes a matter of deciding whether you will take advantage of the rewards program that’s offering the best deal that week or if you want to try to increase your tier. Either way, you really can’t lose. You’re going to save money and have a good time, and that’s what really matters.
The solution is pretty simple.
If you want the best casino bonuses and rewards, it makes no sense to join a subpar casino. You need to join the best.
Why get a $200 bonus when you want $2,000? Why agree to a 45x rollover when another casino offers 30x?
My point is you should join the casinos that are competitive with their promotions; they offer the most money; the best rollover terms; the most points for every $1 spent; the most cash back for your points.
Few casinos can claim the title of “best” for this category. We’ve listed the ones we feel make the cut in our list below.
You can take our word for it; just click through to your chosen casino and get signed up. Or, you can read our reviews to find the best casino for you.
Whatever you choose to do, you don’t want to take too long. Most offers are “limited time” promotions, which means you’ll want to act now if an offer catches your eye.
Rank | DE Online Casino | Exclusive Bonus | Get Started | |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Betway Casino | 100% Up To€250 | Visit Site | Visit Site |
#2 | Europa Casino | 200% Up To€500 | Visit Site | Visit Site |
#3 | Jackpot City Casino | 100% Up To€400 | Visit Site | Visit Site |
#4 | Spinia | 100% Up To€250 | Visit Site | Visit Site |
#5 | Spin Casino | 100% Up To€400 | Visit Site | Visit Site |
Let us assure you – these casinos are not listed by mistake. We have a reason why they’ve made our list. We talk about what the best casinos do (or, rather, don’t do) below, along with other need-to-know info about online casino promotions.
There are a few reasons why casinos offer bonuses and other (VIP) promotions.
1It gives them a way to stand out.
Many casinos are similar in the software they use and games they offer. There’s not much that usually differentiates online casinos, other than maybe their theme or stellar support (which you don’t experience untilyou’re a customer).
So, a casino will offer a unique bonus package. It might be a large bonus; or a small bonus with a low rollover; or some free cash; or maybe a deposit bonus, free cash and free spins combo. Whatever the casino offers, usually it’ll be different than the other casinos.
Some people are unsure about playing online for real money. Maybe they’re scared. Or, they don’t know which casino to choose. Or, they’ve been playing for free.
Online casinos will offer a bonus because sometimes a $500 or $1,000 bonus can be just the nudge a player needs to make a deposit and become a real money customer.
3Bonuses get players in the door.
Many players see a bonus and get excited. “Ooh, free money,” they think.
But the casino knows better. They know that getting you in the door is the hard part. They know that the average player loses to the casino.
The bonus is simply a carrot leading you to the casino doors.
Now let’s talk about offers for existing players, which serves a couple different purposes.
The more you play – the more loyal you are – the more the casino will give back to you. This could be in free spins, free cash, bonuses, one-on-one attention, games and more. It’s just a way to say “thank you” and maybe get you to make another deposit and/or play more.
Keep in mind that you’re still losing money (unless you’ve won a jackpot or something). So, even though the casino is giving you stuff, it’s only because you’ve given them so much of your money.
5To bait you to play more.
VIP programs are “rewards” too, but they also serve the purpose of baiting you to play more.
For example, say you play $30 and earn just enough points to be just shy of a free game or $10 cash back. What are you going to do? Stop playing?
Nah. Most people are going to make another deposit to try to earn the points – even if it means losing more in the process than they stand to gain.
Then there are offers – like reload bonuses – that are meant to get existing, inactive players active again. These are often free match bonuses and/or free spins and/or free cash offers to get people interested indepositing and playing again.
The bottom line – online casinos have an agenda when it comes to giving you money and prizes. The goal is for you to come in and spend money with them. But that shouldn’t be surprising.
In fact, you should take that knowledge and use it as leverage to get the best deals possible. And, to make an educated decision as to where you want to play and who you want to spend your money with.
And, to take FULL ADVANTAGE of any offers or perks that might be available to you.
Types of Promotions to Expect from the Best Casinos
Now that you know why casinos offer you bonuses and VIP perks, let’s look at exactly what types of promotions casinos offer.
These are offered to new customers. They’re usually match bonuses, but they can also be free spins, free (no deposit) cash offers, free spins, or a combination of these.
Casino Rewards Casinos
Match Bonuses
The casino matches a percentage of your deposit.
For example, if the casino is offering a 100% up to $100 bonus, for every dollar you deposit the casino will give you $1. If you deposit $100 the casino will give you $100, for a grand total of $200.
These are usually small offers, like $10 or $20. Sometimes you’ll get them once you join a casino. Other times they’ll be used as a rebate on your initial losses.
For example, you’ll make a deposit and play $10 or $20 or whatever, then the casino will compensate however much you may have lost, up to a specified max amount.
Free Spins
Casinos will give you free spins for one of their slot machines. Sometimes you can play whatever machine you want. Other times they’ll require you to play a specific genre of slots, or even a specific title.
This is a referral program where the casinos will pay you a “finders’ fee” for every person you send their way that signs up and makes a real money deposit.
High Roller Bonus
This is often a match bonus that’s larger than your standard match bonus. These start in the 4-figure range ($2,000-$5,000) and sometimes can even exceed the 5-figure mark ($10,000+). And, depending on your relationship with the casino, you might even get more.
These offers are exclusive to mobile players. In some cases, this will be the casino’s general offer, but simply positioned or targeted to mobile players.
Loyalty Points
These are points you earn when you spend money at the casino. Each casino will give you so many points for every $1 or $10 spent.
Loyalty points will serve a couple different purposes. One, they’ll be used to determine your VIP status, if the casino has a multi-tiered VIP program. The higher up you go the more perks you can get. And two, they’re used to exchange for cashback.
These are match bonuses reserved for existing customers, either to get them back into the casino, reward them for playing, or both.
These are the most common offers. But, the truth is you can find these offers at any casino. So, what do the best casinos do that the subpar casinos don’t?
6 Ways the Best Casinos for Bonuses & Promos are Different
What do the best casinos do that the others don’t?
It’s not always about offering the largest match, the most money, or the most offers overall. You need to look past the surface if you want to find the casinos with the best promotions.
Here’s what we mean.
Quick Tender Ltd
Ideally that means the smallest rollover. This is important for a couple reasons.
For one thing, the sooner you get through the rollover the faster you can cash out (if you want). The more you’re forced to play, the higher your chances of losing your money to the casino.
Getting through the rollover also means you’ll have a wider range of games you can play without getting penalized.
2They will let you play blackjack, video poker, baccarat and others.
Many casinos won’t let you play these games to clear their offers. There are a couple of reasons for this.
One reason is odds – these games have the lowest odds or house edge. You can easily go on a streak and not only win money from the casino, but also the bonus money.
They also prohibit you from playing certain games because they don’t want players to take advantage of them. Like roulette – players could bet on even/odd or red/black with the bonus money and come out ahead. Casinos don’t like that.
The best casinos will let you play these games (within reason). But you’ll still have play through requirements.
3The play through requirements for blackjack, video poker, etc. will be reasonable.
The casinos that do let you play these games for the bonus will handicap their play through requirements. In other words, they make it so that every dollar you wager on these games only count for a fraction of what adollar spent on slots does.
Here’s what I mean:
- Slots – 100% of every $1 goes to the bonus
- Blackjack – 40% of every $1 goes to the bonus
What this means is you’ll need to spend 2.5x as much money to clear the (same) bonus if you choose to play blackjack.
This is pretty normal.
But what the best casinos do that the others don’t, is they make this play through reasonable. I’ve seen some that want blackjack players to wager 10 TIMES MORE than slots players. That’s ridiculous.
You’ll want to find a casino that offers something like 2-5x slots players. And even then you might not feel the bonus is worth it.
The best casinos will structure their VIP program and points so that you get more for every dollar you spend.
In other words, as you earn points you’ll move up in tiers. In doing so you’ll gain a multiplier which will speed up the rate in which you earn points. In turn this also speeds up how fast you move up in ranks.
At the same time, the points you earn are being saved for cash back. The more points you earn, the more cash you get back. And the more points you earn, the faster you’ll earn them, which means over time you’ll earn more cash back at a fasterrate.
Think of it sort of like compound interest.
5They will have game specific offers.
Most casinos have general offers – a one-size-fits-all deposit or reload bonus. But the best casinos will have offers for specific games; an offer for slots and keno; an offer for blackjack; an offer for video poker, and so on.
This is important because the rollover terms aren’t nearly as bad for games like blackjack or video poker as they are from casinos who lump all their games into one promotion. Sure, the blackjack bonus will be much smaller than the slots offer, but at least you won’t have to wager tens or hundreds of thousands to clear it.
(Which many of the “other” casinos will make you do.)
This sort of goes hand-in-hand with the rollover terms.
But the best casinos won’t screw you by making you rollover a bonus 50x or 100x before letting you cash out (which can equal tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars). They won’t limit how much you can bet per hand/spin/round or how much of your winnings you can cash out while playing on your bonus.
And they won’t like about it in the chat like some casinos have, only to turn around and enforce the terms listed in their T&C’s.
Conclusion: Time to Choose a Casino
Okay, now that we’ve gotten through the bulk of important information, it’s now time to decide – which casino should you choose? Which one is best for you?
There’s really no right or wrong answer. And, what works for you won’t necessarily work for the next guy.
Maybe you don’t need a big bonus. Maybe you want a large match instead. Or, maybe you want a no download bonus (rebate) instead of a match bonus.
That’s something you have to think about – what do YOU want?
No one knows but you.
I know that’s not helpful. So, here’s what I’d think if I were you.
The more money you have, the more you can (and, maybe should) lean towards offers where you get more money or perks overall. Especially if the offer has a small rollover.
However, if you’re on a budget I suggest looking for a larger match bonus. An offer where you get a 200%, 300% or even 400% match. You’ll get 2-5x every dollar you spend.
This goes for VIP programs, too. You should be looking to get the most out of every casino – especially if you’re on a smaller budget. You want to get more points for the money you spend, and you want your points to go as far as possible (fewer points for more money and perks).
Best Casino Rewards Program In Las Vegas
If you’re only going to play a few hours a month (maybe a few hundred bucks or less), then there’s no sense in driving yourself crazy trying to find the perfect deposit bonus or VIP program. Simply because you’re not going to play enough to reap the rewards worthy of your effort.
What you’ll want to do instead is find a simple, small bonus, maybe a free cash or free spins offer for new players. Then maybe a simple cash back reward program. Oh, and offers that don’t have expiration dates.
You’ll also want to consider the games you’ll play. Slots players will have tons of options to choose from whereas blackjack and video poker players will not. Craps and roulette players are (almost) out of luck.
Those are some of the things I’d think about when choosing a casino based on bonuses and rewards. It’s not perfect, but it should lead you in the right direction.
You can also use our recommendations. And if you don’t like your first choice? Then simply switch to your second choice. Keep going until you find a casino that fits you.
Whatever you do, don’t sign up to a casino only for their bonus. Because the offers that look too good to be true usually are – and they come at a price you don’t want to pay.
Promotions FAQ
Here are some questions we receive on a regular basis about online casinos and their promotions.
No. The biggest bonus isn’t always better. In fact, it depends on you.
If you have lots of money to spend – that you can afford to lose – then finding the biggest bonus will probably make more sense.
But for people with smaller budgets, finding a smaller bonus that has a larger match (150-400%) will be better. They’ll squeeze as much money as they can from their small bankroll.
Either way, the idea is to get more mileage out of what you have. That’s the way I think people should think.
How fast will I receive my bonus?
Best Casino Rewards Program
That depends on the offer.
If you get a match bonus, often times the money’s put into your account once you make your deposit. Then it’ll be gone once you spend (lose) it or it expires.
Other offers, like a no download offer, might have to be earned first by depositing your own money and playing enough, or by losing money and then emailing support to let them know.
Keep in mind that each casino has a different way of skipping the bonus. Some casinos give you the option when you make your deposit – you’ll check a box or something. Others will have you email and request it instead. If you don’t email them, you don’t get the bonus.
Then there are others that want you to email them to ask to decline it. But remember that you’ll need to do this BEFORE you make your deposit.
What does it mean to rollover the deposit and the bonus? Can you give me an example?
Casinos have terms that say you must rollover your deposit and/or bonus before you can cash out. What this means is you need to wager a multiple of your deposit/bonus.
For example, say the casino has a 30x play through on your bonus.
If your bonus is $1,000, you’ll need to rollover/play/wager that 30x – or $30,000. If it was a 100% match offer and you deposited $1,000 to get that, and the casino wants you to roll both your deposit and bonus over, you’d have to wager $60,000.
If you try to withdraw too soon, the casino may void your bonus or any winnings won with it.
Some casinos will let you. Most won’t. Many are just play or non-cashable bonuses. It really depends on the offer, though.
Can I have every bonus the casino offers?
That depends. Many casinos will have you choose between introductory offers, then from there you can take part in most, if not all of their existing customer offers. But sometimes the casino lets you have them all – you’ll just need to request and clear one offer at a time.
What happens if I don’t complete the bonus before it expires?
Usually the casino will remove the remaining bonus money from your account.
What’s a no deposit bonus? How do I get free money without making a deposit?
No deposit bonuses are usually very small – less than $50. My guess is that many casinos view this as a loss leader. They want to get you in the door, playing and having a good time, in hopes that you’ll deposit moreonce you run out.
At other casinos, this is more or less a rebate offer or insurance. You’ll need to deposit money and play, then you’ll be given a rebate on what you’ve lost, essentially canceling it out. You still made a deposit, but it’s almost as if you didn’t.
Why’s the rollover so much smaller for online slots or keno than blackjack or video poker?
It depends on the game. I think there are a few reasons.
One, the odds for slots and keno are so much worse for players. The odds are 15-30+ percent (in favor of the house. However, the odds for blackjack and video poker are less than 1 percent. There’s going to be more variance and there’s a goodchance the blackjack and video poker players will win money – on top of getting bonus money. The added rollover gives them more time to lose.
For some games, like roulette, casinos put safeguards in place (if not ban it altogether for bonus clearing) to protect them from people who might game the system.
For example, you can take a free bonus offer and put it on both red/black or even/odds in craps. Sure, you’ll always lose one bet, but the other bet will win – and that’s money you’ll be able to cash out. So, the casino will lose in the long run.
Have a question you’d like us to answer?