We went to check in at about 2PM local time on a Thursday. I had a folded up twenty between my license and CC. As I handed the tip sandwich over the counter, I asked the young woman if there were any complimentary upgrades available and she instantly knew what was happening. She took the twenty dollar bill, put it on the counter top and said, “let me make sure I can help you before holding on to that.”

It took maybe 2-3 minutes, but eventually she handed me my CC and license as well as some room keys. She never said she could or could not get me the upgrade, but I decided to leave the $20 on the counter for her just in case.

Sure enough, when we entered the spacious living room area of this awesome suite, I knew we got upgraded. We went from a single room with a king bed to a suite with a couch, breakfast table for four, view of the strip, his and hers sinks, stand up shower and a separate tub, plus a bedroom with a king bed and two chairs that were perfect for uh… nighttime activities.

Didnt select a specific clerk, handed the clerk my credit card and ID with a 20 bill. At first she snickered, then we had small talk about my stay, then she went and spoke with a manager, came back and was able to offer me an upgrade with a strip view and a newly renovated room. checked in around 10pm

Arrived around 9 pm on a Sunday night. The front desk line was maybe 5 people deep. I ended up with a late-20s woman at the front desk and I handed her my ID, credit card and a folded $20, making no reference to it. She put it on the desk and we made small talk. She said that I was booked in the Mardi Gras tower (which is older and louder). I said yes, but if there’s any way you could put me in a Valley Tower (newly renovated tower) room with a view I’d really appreciate it. She said she’d see what she could do, briefly went to the back room to speak to someone and returned.

The room itself was indeed in the Valley Tower, it was a nice view of the mountains and if I went to the extreme left of my window I could just see the High Roller. It was pretty quiet and removed from the casino loudness though, which was my main concern. I definitely don’t regret the tip. The room was just fine, I hoped for a little magic but it didn’t quite go as planned. One word of advice: know exactly what room you want to be upgraded to. As in, the exact name on the website. And don’t expect more than a tier of upgrade unless you’ve got lots of documented Total Rewards play, at least not at the $20 level. YMMV if you try to tip $50 or even $100, but for a middle-of-the-road hotel like Harrah’s I figured $20 would be sufficient.

I was at harrah’s at 10:30 on Monday at night because my flight was delayed. The clerk name was Elena. She say welcome to harrah’s and I said thank you this is my first time. I hand her my ID, credit card and a $50 bill in between. She found the $50 and put it on the keyboard. She work her magic and said we booked you in our executive suite at the valley tower and also you receive $20 free play. The executive suite is glamorous, I love it

Checked in around 10 pm and used the $20 sandwich and told the clerk anything that she can do to make my wife’s birthday special would be appreciated. We got upgraded from deluxe an older tower to the newly renovated tower with high roller view.

We checked in around 8:30pm, there was a line, so we had no choice of clerk. But when we asked “is there any chance for a complimentary upgrade?”, she smirked as if there were not that many options and said, let me see what I can do. We had booked a carnival room with two queen beds, she was able to get us upgraded to a room on the 24th floor with a view of the strip. At first I did not think it was all that great of an upgrade, but then the volcano show at TI started. Great advice! Thanks!

My experience was baffling. We arrived at Harrah’s 5:30 p.m. on November 17, 2015. There was a line so no choice of checkin person. We ended up with a timid middle aged front desk lady. She was very polite. I explained we were celebrating 2 things one was my 50th birthday and two I have just found my high school sweetheart and 1st love after being seperated for 30 years and we decided to come to Las Vegas for her very first time ever. WE were hoping for a complementary upgrade to a suite from a basic Carnaval room. I placed a $50 bill between license and credit card and the lady could not give it back to me quick enough and stated “lets see how well you are happy with your room first”. She typed in a bunch of stuff and I was looking for 4 nights upgrade. She then walked over to a I assume supervisor standing behind all the desk agents and she had her own computer in which the 2 ladies looked at something on the screen.( I am assuming they were looking to see if I had any Total Rewards action previous)I HAD NONE. After 2 or 3 minutes our agent slowly walked back and started typing again a quietly said “its $75 per night upgrade to a Suite”. After a moment of silence she responded ” I can offer a King Deluxe in Mardi Gras tower for you complimentary”. This ended up being a smaller room (320 square feet) and extra ammenities were Television in bathroom, marble counters in bathroom, large Plasma television in the bedroom and a balcony that was 2 foot wide so basically you could open sliding glass doors to look out but could not literally walk out onto balcony. Note about balcony it is right about food court and all the exhaust fans so the smell of all the foods mixed were nauxious so could not comfortably open doors. It did not cost me $50 but also it is clear you need prior action on Total Rewards.

So easy! $20 for suite with jacuzzi tub on 34th floor!

I stayed at Harrah’s last year and had no luck. I notice that there are no recent postings for this hotel and as I am staying there next week if anyone has submited any recent results.