Atlantic City is within a short drive of where we live, but we never really went there because it's a gambling resort town and there's nothing more anti-Mustachian than gambling (or what I call mindlessly flushing money down the toilet.) However, I realized after talking to some friends who went there regularly that it was actually possible to go on vacation to Atlantic City without spending money on anything except gas to get there.
Here's how it worked:
1.) I signed up online for a free Total Rewards membership from Caesars Entertainment. Caesars runs four of the eleven casinos in Atlantic City and Total Rewards is their players club which typically is used by gamblers to save up reward points from playing which they can then use on "comps" (or free rooms and meals). They start you off at "Gold" level which gets you basic discounts on meals (like $1-$2).
2.) Then, I signed up for Social Rewards which Caesars has contracted with to get everyday people to promote their resorts. Basically, you sign up with your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google account, etc.) and you tweet or post ads for them. To avoid annoying my friends with spam, I set the SR app on Facebook so posts could only be seen by me and I retweeted stuff on Twitter with ridiculous answers to Caesars' questions to entertain everybody. The Social Rewards stuff is geared towards Caesars' Las Vegas resorts, but you earn points that can be redeemed for Total Rewards credits that can be used at any of their resorts (including the ones near me in Atlantic City.) Every 1000 points can be redeemed to $10 in Total Rewards credits. You can only share three things per day, unless you are watching their YouTube videos which they do not limit. I spend maybe five minutes a day using Social Rewards and I typically rack up 1000 points every week or so.
3.) The next thing I did was sign up for the Total Rewards Visa. You need to have at least a 720 credit score to qualify for it, but once you are accepted they give you a bonus of $100 in Total Rewards credits if you spend $750 in the first three months. They typically give 1 reward credit per dollar spent, but they also give 2 credits per dollar for any grocery or gas purchase. I discovered that the TR Visa considered my warehouse store purchases to be "grocery" purchases, so I have used that very effectively to rack up points. I didn't change any of my household spending, so this was literally free money.
One of the best features of the Total Rewards Visa is that it instantly gives you Platinum Total Rewards status for about two years. Typically, Platinum status requires $12,500 worth of gameplay on the slot machines or a lot higher on table games, but they gave it to me for free just for having their credit card. Platinum status lets you waive the "resort fees" they typically tack onto their hotel stays. It also allows you to skip the line at restaurants (including the buffets). It also gives you free parking in Atlantic City, which will save you about $5/day. You also get a 15% discount on anything in the gift shop if you want to buy souvenirs for some reason. (I prefer just taking photographs on my phone instead of spending money like that.) If you live near Las Vegas, the TR Visa will also give you a free "Buffet of Buffets" pass for two people, which gives you unlimited free buffets for 24 hours, and you can get buy one, get one free show tickets (which you can also "comp" with reward credits).
So, I put all of that together and easily racked up several hundred dollars worth of reward credits. Then, I booked a cheap mid-week hotel room during the off-season at the beginning of Summer before school was out at one of their resorts and paid for it with reward credits. We brought our own beer in a cooler and our own breakfast supplies (and they provided free coffee in the room). We used reward credits at the resort for lunch and dinner (and combined that with two for one coupons from an Entertainment book a friend gave us to make it even cheaper). We spent the day enjoying the beach with the beach chairs, umbrella, and beach towels we brought from home. We walked the famous Boardwalk and did some sightseeing of all the "Boardwalk Empire"-era buildings in the area. We enjoyed relaxing at the hotel pool.
Total cost out-of-pocket for our vacation: $7.75 for gas and $3.75 for tolls = $11.50. Best of all, Caesars Entertainment sent me an offer in the mail for two free nights to come back and I didn't even gamble at all. How is that for badass?