Jerry Seinfeld once said about Las Vegas, “If you were not losing, this would not be a very nice place to be, would it? They wouldn’t have beautiful carpeting and restaurants and wonderful shows. It would be like a POW bunker. . . . The losing pays for the nice hotels.”
You can benefit from the countless billions lost every year in Vegas by using some simple tips to vacation there for a fraction of what other people pay.
Although I can’t teach you how to efficiently gamble in one article (two tips, though—$100 will last a lot longer in pai gow poker than in blackjack, and live poker is a solid bet if you stick to low limits and follow Brian’s recent tips), I can show you how to have a great Vegas vacation for far cheaper than you would expect.
Let’s start with some tips on getting to Vegas cheaply.
Cheap Flights to Vegas
Flights to Vegas are often far cheaper than you might expect. If you avoid flying into Vegas on a Friday and back on a Sunday, you can usually get round-trip fares for under $150 from most major cities west of the Mississippi. A guy at the poker table on my last trip even claimed to have flown from Jacksonville, FL for $65. Both Frontier and Spirit fly to Vegas from a number of cities, helping push down fares on full service carriers like United, American, Delta, and Southwest.
Spirit and Frontier
In January I visited Vegas twice, once with a group of friends and once with my dad.
The first trip was from Saturday to Monday and the round-trip fare on Spirit from Denver was $106. I decided to try out Spirit’s “Big Front Seat” on that trip for $30 extra each way. That seat is essentially a domestic first-class seat. It is in the first two rows of the plane and has both extra legroom and extra width. When flying Spirit, I usually don’t pay extra to select a seat. But I was in the mood to splurge. If you’re going to pay to choose a seat on Spirit, you’d be crazy not to pay a bit more to sit in one of these luxurious seats in the front of the plane.
For my second recent trip, my dad and I flew to Vegas on Spirit and back home on Frontier. The round-trip fare was only $72 per person! I didn’t pay for a Big Front Seat on Spirit this time because the plane seemed empty and I ended up getting an exit row seat by asking the gate agent nicely once boarding had started. I’m 6’6” and really appreciated the free upgrade. Although the Frontier flight home was fine, I found the Spirit plane to be nicer and newer, and the Spirit staff was much friendlier.
Southwest
If you have the Southwest Companion Pass, I’d recommend flying Southwest. Although Spirit and Frontier are serviceable, Southwest will almost always be cheaper for a couple if you’re flying with your companion.
Southwest also provides snacks and non-alcoholic drinks for free and allows one standard-sized carry-on and two checked bags for free. Frontier and Spirit do allow you to bring a standard-sized backpack for free, which will usually suffice for a one- or two-day trip, but many people prefer to bring at least a standard-sized carry-on.
Southwest also lets you change or cancel your ticket with no penalty and has many more flights to Vegas than Frontier or Spirit. The additional flights allow you to choose more convenient times and could be very important if there are mechanical problems or weather delays.
Cheap Hotels in Vegas
Option 1: Finagle “Caesars Rewards Diamond Status”
Having Diamond Status in the lesser-known Caesars Rewards program (formerly “Total Rewards”) provides some amazing benefits in Las Vegas (and not just at Caesars Palace). Before getting into those benefits, let me show you how to get Caesars Rewards Diamond Status.
How to Get Caesars Rewards Diamond Status
Getting Caesars Rewards Diamond Status is a two-step process for most folks. First, get Diamond status with Wyndham. Then, match that status to Diamond Status with Caesars Rewards.
According to recent reports on StatusMatcher, if you already have status with Hilton, IHG, Marriott, or even Radisson, you can get Wyndham Diamond status by contacting Wyndham and asking for a status match.
Once you are a Wyndham Diamond member, you can then match that status to become a Caesars Rewards Diamond member.
Benefits of Caesars Rewards Diamond Status
Caesars Rewards members enjoy benefits at Bally’s, Caesars, the Flamingo, Harrah’s, NOBU, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Rio, The Cromwell, and The LINQ.
Among the benefits that Diamond members enjoy are these excellent ones:
- No Resort Fees. First, there are no resort fees on hotel stays! These resort fees are usually around $40/night. By avoiding them, you can get rooms for under $50 many days of the year. For example, the total cost of my Sunday night stay at the Flamingo during the first trip was $20, including tax. The cost for the Tuesday night stay during my second trip was only $22 for a remodeled Flamingo room with two queen beds. Bally’s and Harrah’s often have rooms even cheaper than the Flamingo, and this benefit applies to nicer properties such as Caesars and Paris, too. Once you have Diamond Status, you can book your discounted stay here.
- Free Show Tickets. Diamond status get you two free show tickets for select shows every month.
- $100 Dining Credit. Finally, Diamond members get a $100 dining credit each year. Although this is officially called a “celebration dinner,” I used my credit to treat three friends to the breakfast buffet at the Flamingo. My dad used his credit for the two of us to have a great lunch at Caesars.
Option 2: Chase Luxury Hotels or American Express Fine Hotels
A second way to get good deals on hotels is to book through the Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection or the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program. Though you will have to pay resort fees when booking hotels through these programs, you get the following benefits:
| Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection | American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily breakfast for two | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| A special benefit unique to each property | Guaranteed (often $100 food or spa credit) | Guaranteed (often $100 spa credit) |
| Complimentary Wi-Fi | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| A room upgrade | If available | If available |
| Early check-in | If available | If available |
| Late check-out | If available | Guaranteed |
To book through these programs, you must have one of the following credit cards:
Chase cards needed to book through the Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection:
- British Airways Visa Card
- Freedom
- Freedom Unlimited
- Ink Cash
- Ink Preferred
- Sapphire Preferred
- Sapphire Reserve
- United Explorer (personal and business)
- Marriott Rewards Card
- Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card
AMEX cards needed to book through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts:
- Platinum
- Business Platinum
- Centurion
Cheap Eats to, from, and in Vegas
If you play your cards right, you should be eating multiple free meals during your Vegas vacation.
1st Free Meal: Your Home Airport
Holders of the following credit cards receive a Priority Pass membership that gets you and two guests $28 each in free food at participating restaurants or entry into participating lounges for free:
- AMEX Platinum (personal or business)
- Chase Ritz Carlton
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- City National Bank Visa Infinite
- Citi Prestige
- Barclaycard Gold & Black
- U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve
Being Denver-based, I’ve used my Priority Pass membership to eat for free many times at Denver International Airport’s Timberline Grill. I’ve always enjoyed the food and been impressed by the extensive beer selection.
There are currently 30 restaurant lounges and 1,200+ standard airport lounges that you can access with a Priority Pass membership.
If you fly out of an airport with a Centurion Lounge and you have an AMEX Platinum card—which grants you free access to Centurion lounges—you can arguably do even better than at a Priority Pass restaurant. Centurion Lounges have delicious hot food waiting for you along with craft cocktails and good beer. Additionally, because the food is self-service, you can get in and out quicker than at a restaurant, and you will spend less in tips.
2nd Free Meal: Vegas Airport
The Vegas airport has a Centurion Lounge that you can currently visit upon landing. But unfortunately, Centurion Lounges soon won’t be accessible on arrival at any airport with such a lounge. They’ll only be accessible for departing passengers.
Upon landing in Vegas, however, you’ll still have two options for some free food and drinks using your Priority Pass membership. You can stop by “The Club at LAS” in Concourse D, just around the corner from the Centurion Lounge and enjoy free drinks and snacks. Or, you can take the tram over to “The Club at LAS” location in the international section of Terminal 3 and enjoy really good hot food and an extensive salad bar. It’s one of the best domestic lounges I have visited with Priority Pass. This lounge has lots of room and great service. It’s worth the tram ride if you have ten minutes to spare.
3rd Free Meal: Use Your $100 Food & Beverage Credit
If you book your hotel through the Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection and stay at Aria, Delano, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, NoMad, Skylofts, or The Signature at MGM Grand, you get a $100 food and beverage credit per stay.
I enjoy the restaurants at the MGM complex the most. You can use the $100 property credits from either the MGM Grand or the MGM Signature at these restaurants. On a two-night stay, I usually book one night at the MGM Grand and the other night at the MGM Signature to get two, separate $100 food credits (since the credits are per stay, not per night). Though this means switching rooms in the middle of the stay, I find getting the extra $100 credit to be worth it. And it’s only a five-minute walk, all indoors, from the check-out desk of one hotel to the check-in desk of the other.
4th Free Meal: Breakfast for Two Every Morning
Booking through the Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection or the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program entitles you to free breakfast for two every morning. I have enjoyed the free breakfast at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano multiple times and also really like Delights at the MGM Signature.
If you stay at the Bellagio or Aria you can even enjoy a free breakfast buffet for two. These are some of the top buffets in Vegas and have much more than your standard breakfast fare. If you eat a late breakfast and take advantage of all the buffets’ delicious offerings, you will almost certainly not be hungry again until dinner.
5th Free Meal: Vegas Airport, Again
On your way home from Vegas hit the Centurion Lounge and enjoy the hot buffet and great drinks if you have the Platinum card. If you have a card that has Priority Pass membership, you can enjoy free cocktails and some food at one of The Club at LAS locations instead.
If you plan your flights right, you should enjoy the free breakfast for two from the Chase Luxury Hotel or AMEX Fine Hotels program and then a free late lunch or early dinner at the Vegas airport. You will arrive home having spent very little on food even though you would have enjoyed some good meals.
Conclusion
Vegas is great for a romantic weekend in a fancy hotel with shows, spending quality time with friends, or even a quick family trip to hit the big hotel’s amazing pools.
And as you can see, travelling to Vegas can be one of the best deals in travel. Just don’t lose all the money you saved playing slot machines. . . .
Question: Do you have any good Vegas hacks? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
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