Crown Melbourne is quickly becoming one of my favourite parking spots near my office for days when I can’t find anything cheap or free nearby. However, there are many tricks and tips on how to get cheaper or free parking at Crown Melbourne that seem difficult to research online when planning ahead. I’m going to try and do my best to show the ways I’ve found to get cheaper or free parking at Crown.
The advice in this article could stop working at any time, so please keep this in mind. I don’t want to mess you around!
About Crown Melbourne’s Car Parks
There are two main car parks at Crown Melbourne. Navigating to these can be a little confusing and used to be daunting to get around at first. These are the Multilevel carpark and the Basement Car park. There is also valet parking outside the hotels and main casino. The best value is at the Multi-Level Carpark
Crown Multilevel Carpark Rates
The prices for the Multi-Level Carpark are:
- 0-5 Hours: $10
- 5-7 Hours: $15
- 7-24 Hours: $25
There is also a flat rate of $29 on Fridays and Saturdays from 4pm and Midnight as well as during peak event days, public holidays eves and public holidays. You should still be able to use this guide to get those reduced to free parking. The price for a lost ticket is $50.
Crown’s Premium Basement Parking (Avoid)
Address: 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, Vic 3006
The basement parking at Crown is on Whiteman Street and is much closer to the Casino, and the restaurants. It’s much closer to Melbourne in general and thus, it attracts a premium rate of use, up to $45 per day. You must be a Gold Tier member to get free parking here, so without months of planning and expense, this is out of reach for most people who are trying to score free parking.
Crown’s Cheap Multilevel Car Park (Easy to Get Free Parking)
Address: 27 Clarke St, Southbank, Vic 3006
If you are looking for hacks and tricks to get free or cheap parking at Crown, this is what you want. Any tier of Crown membership can get free parking here if they spend money in the right places at Crown. This is down the City Road end of Crown, near the edge of Southbank and South Melbourne. The location of this car park may be less convenient for those heading towards the city, but the savings are worth the extra few minutes walk.
How to Get Free Multilevel Parking At Crown
Sign Up for Crown Rewards
If it is your first time at Crown Melbourne, you will want to head to a Crown Rewards desk. I believe you are better off doing this in person rather than online as you are more likely to score freebies. Most of the Crown Rewards desks are within the Casino gaming area, but there is one near the adjoining food court that you should be able to access if you have kids with you. The process takes a little while whilst they set your planned gambling limits and take your photo.
It is recommended to get a paper ticket instead of using your credit card to enter before signing up. When I recently signed up, I had entered the carpark using my credit card and mentioned I had done this, so they added free parking for my first day onto my new Crown Membership card and they also gave me a free drink card to use at one of the bars. So try and get a paper ticket instead.
Going forward, you will want to use your Crown Rewards card on everything that you can there every time you go, even if you are not parking there. I made the mistake of not claiming restaurant meals there when I wasn’t parking there as I wasn’t aware of the additional benefits of doing this.
Where are the Crown Rewards booths?
Most of the Crown Rewards booths are within the actual casino floor, there is one that joins onto the main food court on the ground floor.
How Much Money Must I Spend to Get Free Parking at Crown Melbourne?
Basically, to get free parking in the multilevel carpark the easiest thing you can do is spend $50 (250 Lifestyle Points) in participating restaurants and shops and scan your Crown Rewards card. You can also stack these points over time to earn new status levels.
Some places seem to only allow you to use your Crown Rewards card if you are the same person who booked and paid for it. This is basically all the premium restaurants and shops and excludes some places in the two food courts. Other activities such as Holey Molely can also get you points. See the lists below.
Restaurants Where You Can Earn Crown Rewards Points
- Baci
- Bistro Guillaume
- Cervo
- Conservatory
- Espresso Bar
- Fish & Chippery by The Atlantic
- Ging Thai
- Gradi
- Koko
- Lucky Chan
- Man Tong Kitchen
- Margo’s
- Merrywell Burger Bar
- Mesh
- Mr. Hive Lounge
- Nobu
- Rockpool Bar & Grill
- Silks
- Spice Temple
- Teak Room Restaurant (Eligible members only)
- The Atlantic
- The Mahogany Room Restaurant (Eligible members only)
- The Waiting Room
Earn Crown Rewards Points at These Bars & Nightclubs
- Atrium Bar
- Co.
- Double Up Bar
- Ghost Donkey
- Jackpot Bar
- Lumia
- Ocean 12
- Sports Bar
- Therapy
- The Den
- The Palms at Crown Bar
- The Pub
- Tonic
- Velvet Bar
Only These Food Court Restaurants Let You Earn Crown Rewards Points
- Cucina Italian
- KFC
- McDonald’s
- Rhumbas
- Subway
- Tandoor Indian
- Ten Miles
If you order using the MyMaccas app, be sure to tell the staff what your order cost when collecting your food and they will credit your Crown Card. I assume KFC is the same and will update this once I find out.
Entertainment At Crown Where You Can Earn Rewards Points
You can claim points at the following entertainment venues, even if you book online. However, your Crown Card name or card must match the booking name. I tried to claim points for our Holey Moley work Christmas Party but they wouldn’t let me as it was booked by the accountant.
- Kingpin
- The Palms at Crown (Venue bookings only, excludes ticket purchases)
- Village Cinema Crown (Box Office purchases only)
- Holey Moley
- Juke’s
- Ocean 12
- Red Herring
Events
You can claim points from booking events at the following venues, which is handy if you are booking a conference or wedding. I’ve not booked any such events, so I cannot comment much further on what does or doesn’t count regarding these, but you can surely ask ahead of time if you are thinking of doing this.
- 28 Skybar Lounge
- Crown Aviary
- Crown Conference Centre
- Evergreen
- Garden Room
- Metropol Meeting Rooms
- Palladium at Crown
- Promenade Room
- River Room
Other Tips & Tricks for Free Parking
If you pass enough money through the machines or tables, you can earn status points as well as enough points to park for free on the day. However, I’m not a gambler and don’t really understand the process. I’ve read some threads on Reddit that suggest how you can do this, but I cannot confirm if these tricks still work.
What if You Need to Come and Go From the Crown Car Park?
Every time you come and go from Crown Car Park, you will need to pay again even if it’s the same day. This is a bit frustrating, but if you are staying as a hotel guest, you can ask for an exit pass, which will allow you to go out once for free.
Understanding Crown Reward Points and Status
The ways that you earn points are somewhat confusing as there are multiple point types and different values depending on where you are spending money. Casino points will vary from game to game, so I won’t get into those, but you earn 2 points for every $1 spent in Restaurants, Bars and Events & Conferences. You earn 5 points for every $1 spent in Hotels or Retail. Hotel bookings seem to be the best way to earn points fast.
How to Get “Free” Parking for 6 Months with Silver Status
This is a little confusing, I had to call up Crown Rewards to clarify this. But if you obtain Silver status on your Crown Rewards card, you get free parking for 6 months so long as you spend about 50 cents at one of the eligible locations. You’d be hard-pressed to find anything for 50 cents, but could easily just buy a coffee at McDonald’s or something each day to maintain that.
Where this gets confusing is that the period for member status resets every 6 months. So March 31st and September 30th everyone’s status points return to 0. However, whatever status you were on, carries on for the next 6 months. In order to keep your status points ongoing, you need to keep earning at least 5 points per 6 months.
So from my understanding, as I write this in February 2025, below is my my current status:
I have 3 points towards hitting Silver Status (5 required) with 1 month, 2 weeks and 6 days remaining to earn 2 more points.
I need to spend $136 dollars in Lifestyle points to earn 272 Lifestyle points I’ll get 1 more Status Point and if I stay a night at one of their hotels in the cheapest room at $248, I’ll earn 24,800 points which is more than enough to get the 2nd extra Status Point needed to unlock Silver Status.
At this point, I think it would be crazy not to do that, but again, staying at Crown a lot is expensive, but so is parking in and near the city! Aiming for Silver Status at Crown is really only worth it if you work in the area. Otherwise just stick to one of the other methods mentioned above.
