Las Vegas 2007 bargain hunt + tips

ferf1223

Panda - they do, but when my husband looked into it it became reasonably clear that we will never, ever have enough miles/points/whatever for a free flight...but we'll still join...OK, I just found the info - each one way trip = 100 points...you need 3200 points for a return flight! But I read somewhere that up to 5 people can share the same account, so maybe not so bad.

https://www.maxjet.com/frequentFlyerLogin.do

Photome - yes really...the Thursday before Easter (taking advantage of the 2 bank holidays seemed like such a good idea and Maxjet don't fly to Vegas on a Friday). We booked Bally's for 9 nights.

And if anyone's looking for flights early December just had a notice about Virgin deal for £389, 1st to 12th December...fairly tight window, but may help someone.

vix2000

thanks fo all the advice about flights. I'm not au fait with virgin miles. I can buy airmiles with tesco vouchers though.

photome

vix2000 wrote: »

thanks fo all the advice about flights. I'm not au fait with virgin miles. I can buy airmiles with tesco vouchers though.

Are you meaning you can buy airmiles or virgin miles?

I dont know the answer, but it would cost you £35 for 2000 virgin miles which is enough to get a discounted economy fare

photome

ferf1223 wrote: »

Panda - they do, but when my husband looked into it it became reasonably clear that we will never, ever have enough miles/points/whatever for a free flight...but we'll still join...OK, I just found the info - each one way trip = 100 points...you need 3200 points for a return flight! But I read somewhere that up to 5 people can share the same account, so maybe not so bad.

https://www.maxjet.com/frequentFlyerLogin.do

Photome - yes really...the Thursday before Easter (taking advantage of the 2 bank holidays seemed like such a good idea and Maxjet don't fly to Vegas on a Friday). We booked Bally's for 9 nights.

And if anyone's looking for flights early December just had a notice about Virgin deal for £389, 1st to 12th December...fairly tight window, but may help someone.

Thats why we are going then( bank holidays), we did the same this year and the weather was fantastic,but it is a couple of weeks earlier next year. I am waiting for a Flamingo offer as I have a comp upgrade once I have booked a standard room

gt568

vix2000 wrote: »

I'm not au fait with virgin miles.

The virgin Miles+Money scheme is explained around post number 500. It's what we did in the end. Pretty good deal.

ferf1223

photome wrote: »

Thats why we are going then( bank holidays), we did the same this year and the weather was fantastic,but it is a couple of weeks earlier next year. I am waiting for a Flamingo offer as I have a comp upgrade once I have booked a standard room

We're looking forward to trying that part of the year - it's one of the six months of the year we have not been to Vegas. Based on the fact that we will be having 9 nights in Vegas and only using 6 days holiday from work, I am thinking an annual Easter trip might be something we will consider...normally stay 8 nights and use 8 days holiday for our November trips.

As for Flamingo - have you tried logging into your Total Rewards account online, clicking on reservations and seeing what comes up for your dates for Flamingo or the other HET hotels?? We never get offers (possibly because we always book so far in advance) but can always get 5 nights comped each going through this way...of course, we're degenerate gamblers and all that, so individual results will vary.

photome

mookybargirl wrote: »

Hello everyone, I'm back from Vegas - boo hoo.

Had a fantastic time. Thought I'd share some bits and pieces. We were there for 10 days and decided on 3 hotels for our stay (we wanted to try different places and obviously avoid the high weekend prices too). We stayed at MGM, Bally and Paris. My OH was worried at moving twice but it was sooo easy. The 2nd move from Ballys to Paris was especially easy as the bell desk even moved our bags over to Paris so we didn't even need to walk through the connecting walkway with them.

We did tip at check in ($20 to $40) and it went really well. We got upgraded to a great suite at Ballys for $40. This one was our biggest tip and it was over a weekend so we thought it was worth £20! Our room had a steam room and a jacuzzi with a waterfall. My OH was worried about me trying this but has now said it would take a lot of rejection/embarassment before he'd stop trying this in future. We really did have a great room at Ballys and the other 2 tips went well too. Great strip/bellagio fountain views.

Our US Airways flight were all fine but BEWARE if you're going to Phili. It was nothing short of hell. From getting off the plane to getting through the customs and picking up your bags (to drop them off literally a minute's walk away) took just over 90 minutes. This was before we even wandered off to find our next gate. There were queues for eveything and they're just not prepared for the amount of people going through there so ensure your connections have LOTS of time.

I was disappointed in the Bellagio conservatory. Did anyone else go see this? I really thought it was rubbish! I expected a room made of flowers and spectacularly put together. Am I missing something here?

People have been talking about cabs while I've been gone. We were ripped off on our way back to the airport in 2005. I remember looking at my OH thinking "where is he taking us?!" I'm sure the far was about £30 (not dollars) but what can you do.

Oh, and take ID if you intend of going into a bar. My OH didn't have his ID and they wouldn't let us in and were very rude about it. He's 32 by the way and would NOT pass for under 25 let alone 21 so it got me thinking if our grandparents didn't have ID, would they get the same refusal?

We saw Ka, Dirk Arthurs Magic Show and Jubilee. Really enjoyed all of them and what a bargain those £25 Ka tickets at ticketmaster were

Now, when's my next trip :rotfl: Had to put in a new boiler and shower while I was away so looks like I'll need to save a while first...... :rolleyes:

I posted a pic of bellagio conservatory (1 of many i have) on page 21 post 402 of this forum...wondered how it compared to now..taken in April

photome

ferf1223 wrote: »

We're looking forward to trying that part of the year - it's one of the six months of the year we have not been to Vegas. Based on the fact that we will be having 9 nights in Vegas and only using 6 days holiday from work, I am thinking an annual Easter trip might be something we will consider...normally stay 8 nights and use 8 days holiday for our November trips.

As for Flamingo - have you tried logging into your Total Rewards account online, clicking on reservations and seeing what comes up for your dates for Flamingo or the other HET hotels?? We never get offers (possibly because we always book so far in advance) but can always get 5 nights comped each going through this way...of course, we're degenerate gamblers and all that, so individual results will vary.

Have logged in a couple of times, but dont gamble very much.nearly all my gambling is on roullette..dont seem to earn many points playing that.

we mostly go early part of year (march april time and have mostly been luck with the weather...about 90 to 100...sometimes very windy though

ferf1223

photome wrote: »

Have logged in a couple of times, but dont gamble very much.nearly all my gambling is on roullette..dont seem to earn many points playing that.

we mostly go early part of year (march april time and have mostly been luck with the weather...about 90 to 100...sometimes very windy though

Does it not at least give you reduced rates? I rarely play on my card (we both play on my husband's) and I qualify for reduced rates.

Looking forward to trying spring in Vegas!

ang68uk

Quote:
Originally Posted by photome
I am going march 20th


Been reading lots of info on forum and now booked to go in March but havent yet booked Hotels. Decided to take our chances and fly Virgin. Going from Edinburgh with BA to Gatwick then Virgin - price £435.00ea. Can we wait and book offers with hotel about Jan time or is it best to book now direct with the hotel. 1st time we have booked flights and hotel seperate. We like the look of Ballys, MGM grand, Harrahs and Mirage.