Las Vegas 2007 bargain hunt + tips

ferf1223

Mardrew wrote: »

I called into the local travel agents this week for a couple of brochures and the TA said that we would be looking at a cost of about £800-£850 per person for that week next year. I know that the general consensus is not to book a package but would you agree that that will be what we can expect to pay if we book separately?

Did the TA tell you:

a) which airline those flights would be with
b) if they would be direct or with a connection
c) what hotel or hotels would be included in within that range?

That's important info to compare...if you were quoted for direct flights from MAN staying at Bellagio or Wynn, then that's probably a fair price...in reality, you were probably quoted indirect flights (possibly with a charter airline) at a lower-tier hotel.

I think you could use that figure as a worst case scenario to canvas people for whether or not they are in, with the understanding that closer to the time you will review the flights/hotels option and if the price is less then you will advise.

Travel agents have to make their money somewhere, so chances are good that they aren't giving you the best deal you can get going DIY.

Can you check spring half term for prices to get an idea? Not sure if the same sort of prices would apply, but that's what I would try.

trets77

Mardrew wrote: »

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. To get it for £475-£500 would be an absolute dream. I know most of the flights are not yet out for travel on 18/19 October 2008 but I did find them on one site (My Travel) and the price was £599. Actually, I've just gone to that site again and it looks as if the basic price is £469.40 before adding meals on etc.

Is anyone travelling to Las Vegas next Saturday, 20 Oct, from Manchester. (Start of Half-Term.) I was just wondering what you were paying? It may just give me an indication of Half-Term prices and whether they do go for a premium.

Kind regards

Mardrew

PS I've also just realised that the My Travel flight is on the Sunday which would mean I wouldn't be back in time for work on the Monday. I have a term-time only contract which means I only work 38 weeks of the year but the down-side is that there is no flexibility for extra time off!! Nobody else in the group is tied to school holidays except me and I'm going to feel really bad if everyone else has to pay a lot more than they would have done if they had gone during a non-school holiday.

that means your pretty much stuck with Virgin if you want to do direct Sat - Sat . arriving home in England on Sunday morning.

BMI only offer a direct service to Las Vegas on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (Thursdays, Sundays for winter 07/08 , but not sure of the excact dates of winter) ) and My Travel are Wed and Sundays ( at the moment) .

personally i would choose travelling down to London to catch a direct flight over a indirect flight from Manchester.anyday.

School holidays are generally known for pushing prices of the flights up even for a adult destination like Vegas. the good news is your planning well in advance so should be able to get something that suits. you should definatly try looking into a Virgin Money and miles fare . the website allows upto 8 adults on it,s M+M search engine . check post #500 for deatils.
rememeber the sooner you book after the flights become available for purchase the more chance of getting all or most of the party on a the M+M allocation.

talking of Money and Miles we have decided to swoop quickly now we are back and have booked up our flights for April Next year. :beer: :beer:

not flying to Vegas , gonna have a few days in LA first.

flying Sat to Sat in April = £311 each + £70 for 4000 miles = £348 pp flying into LA and returning from Las Vegas . only downside is flying out of Heathrow and back into Gatwick. ##### deleted ######

this may well turn out to be our last trip though as we are trying to start a family between now and then . we decided to get it sorted now cause with the current exchange rate , it just easier and easier to afford to do things you want in the states, it surely cannot last forever , so while the sun shines and all of that :cool:

luci

trets77 wrote: »

i also hope to upgrade to Prem Economy for free when we have collected the Diamond club miles from BMI in Dec.

Hi trets

Can you expand on that? I have a silver Diamond Club card, but find it impossible to use the destination miles as there just aren't any flight to Vegas you can use them on.

Would I be able to upgrade to Virgin's Prem Economy using bmi's Diamond Club miles and if so, how many miles would I need?

Thanks.

trets77

ooopps , i may have made mistake here . i cannot find any details on spending the miles on a upgrade on the new "ways to spend" miles

https://www.flybmi.com/bmi/src/html/diamondclubhowtospendmiles.html

maybe it,s changed or maybe or mis read something last time i looked at this ( a while ago) sorry . above post has now been edited ... oh well que sera sera cattle class it is then .:rolleyes:

Mardrew

Ferl1223

Thanks for your reply.

No, she didn't give me any exact details other than it was for Manchester flights and for a good 3* or 4* hotel (but not the Bellagio). To be honest, as I know it is highly unlikely that I will be using them, I didn't want to take up too much of their time but it was just handy to get a 'ball park' figure from her to use as a worst case scenario to guage definite interest from our friends.

I'll look at Spring half-term prices. That should give me a good indication. Thanks for that idea.

To be honest, I find that the hardest part of going away in a group is deciding on accommodation that suits everyone. That is why I am prepared to put work/research in i.e. with the hope that I can get something that meets my standards but at the price that they are prepared to pay for a lower standard. In the past this has usually paid off. Fingers crossed for this time as well.

Trets77

Again, many thanks for your detailed reply. It would be nice to fly from Manchester - we live in Leeds - but thanks for making me aware that this is not an option for me. I suppose if the others in the group wanted to do the Sun-Sun flights from Manchester they could do and myself & DH could do the Virgin Gatwick(?) London one. I'll have to see what they say. Usually, our holiday begins the minute we all get together and the travelling is part of the holiday experience.

I agree entirely re getting direct flights.

I have made some notes on the Virgin Money/miles scheme but may be back with some more questions at some point on it.

Am I right in thinking the Virgin flights will be released in November? Are they released on a rolling day by day basis or in block once a month?

Once again, many, many thanks.

Mardrew

PS The last time that myself and DH were in Las Vegas was in 1998. I'm guessing it has changed somewhat since then! (I seem to remember we stayed in the Flamingo Hilton then.

ferf1223

Mardrew wrote: »

Ferl1223

Thanks for your reply.

No, she didn't give me any exact details other than it was for Manchester flights and for a good 3* or 4* hotel (but not the Bellagio). To be honest, as I know it is highly unlikely that I will be using them, I didn't want to take up too much of their time but it was just handy to get a 'ball park' figure from her to use as a worst case scenario to guage definite interest from our friends.

I'll look at Spring half-term prices. That should give me a good indication. Thanks for that idea.

To be honest, I find that the hardest part of going away in a group is deciding on accommodation that suits everyone. That is why I am prepared to put work/research in i.e. with the hope that I can get something that meets my standards but at the price that they are prepared to pay for a lower standard. In the past this has usually paid off. Fingers crossed for this time as well.

Hiya - I have to say I don't envy you the task of finding something to satisfy that many people!

I would be aware that travel agents consider hotels like Stratosphere, Imperial Palace, Sahara, Circus Circus, Hooters, the Super 8s (!) etc 3* hotels...even if you assume that it will cost £500 per person for the flights, assuming 2 people sharing each room, that would leave £600-£700 for the rooms based on the quote you were given - that's $1200-$1400 at the current exchange rate, which would get you a much nicer hotel than 3* in Vegas.

While I think that compared to a lot of accomodation in Europe these hotels would be just fine, I think it's a shame that people pay those prices for lower-level accomodation when for the same money they could stay somewhere a lot nicer.

I think that's basically the same thing that photome said, so I apologise for repeating.

I think that Virgin flights are released 335 days beforehand...I'm sure I've read that number somewhere, anyway.

The other thing I will say is that Vegas really offers so many options that with that large a group, you're never going to satisfy everyone...I've been in a group of 4 and 5 and we always ended up going our separate ways for good parts of the day...cannot imagine wrangling more than that! Just may be worth going into it with some set plans that everyone commits to but knowing that everyone's likely to go different ways in smaller groups the rest of the time...that way no one is annoyed.

Steff

Steff wrote: »

Two people wanting to fly from Manchester to Vegas on Sunday 29 June 2008 returning on Sunday 13 July 2008 – 14 nights total BUT only want to pay a deposit now JUST IN CASE WE CANT ACTUALLY GO!!!

Sounds silly I know – but this way if we do go the flights are sorted.
Last year I did this with Airtours – balance payable six weeks before departure – wasn’t a great fan on My Travel due to stop over in Glasgow, but you cant have it all can you?…..

I have done my own searches and My Travel are around £1,100 for two (£150 deposit), BMI – are £940 – but you have to pay in full at mo…

Does anyone have any ideas?

Hi everyone - thanks to all who gave advice etc.
I have some interesting news for you all - places you can book a flight to Vegas and pay the deposit only (without penalty) are as follows:-

My Travel/Airtours - Pay £150 deposit - can cancel 56 days before departure with no penalty or pay balance and take the flight - cost of flight £1,150.

Thomas Cook - have managed to do a deal for me where the flight is with US Airways. Deposit £240 - can cancel two months before departure without penatly BUT the flight is indirect and is quite expensive - £1,300 for two. There are only 6 seats left on plane too, so I may well miss this deal...

Airline Network - deposit is £55 p/person on selected flights - can cancel up to two months before flying for no additional charge (although after being on phone with them for 15 mins whilst at work I had to hang up in the end, so full t&c's not yet established.... - approx cost of flight £1,100

I really dont know what to do. Would love the direct BMI flights out of Manchester but it would mean paying £950 up front (and what if I cant go?!)

*** WARNING TO ALL *** All My Travel flights out of Manchester in June/July which appear to be direct ARE NOT - THIS YEAR THEY STOP IN BELFAST..... Factor this into any plans you are all making. When I flew with them last year I ended up on the tarmac in Glasgow for two hours (and the flight was sold as direct - you may remember....) This time it is Belfast....

Price for flying Maxjet direct from London to Vegas is £1,500 business class - VERY TEMPTING, but, again, I think I would have to pay upfront for this!

Same flights last year - I paid £999 from Manchester to Vegas for two 01/07/07 - 15/07/07. Dates I need this year are 29/06/08 - 13/07/08 - WSOP Main Event dates.... Any help/advice greatly appreciated...
Steff

loulou_lemon

Hi everyone,

Back from Vegas and had a brilliant time!

Stayed at the Bellagio and thanks to the $20 tip we got a room over-looking the fountains and the strip. The conservatory was worth a visit as are the chocolate fountain & patisserie!

The VIP voucher for show tickets was invaluable as we didn't have to stand in line in the searing heat. Saw Penn & Teller at the Rio which was very good.

Took the helicopter trip with Sundance, booked thru Viator using discount voucher from this thread. It was worth every penny of $300 (including surcharge) and I would recommend it as a definite must do.

Shopping was v good due to strong pound. (Macy's have a sale on atm)

Mon - Thurs was busy but not heaving & some restaurants have special menu's on which are great value. Oyster bar in Miracle mile was particularly good. Fri's start to get v busy so be prepared for crowds.

Best tip - take comfortable shoes!

Thanks again for all the tips & advice-they made a huge difference.

photome

Steff

I havent checked Airline networks terms, but I have always been under the impression that if you book a flight through a broker and only pay a deposit, then you dont get a confirmed price, ie if it goes up you would have to pay the extra and if it goes down? ( not sure that way round)


Just taken this from their website, it looks like my thinking is right. I would be sweating if I only paid a deposit to find the fare shoots up in price before final payment

If the fare allows just a deposit to be paid this option will show at the bottom of the Credit Card
Payment page and you may click on your preferred option. Payment requirements will vary from
one fare to another, some requiring full payment at the time of booking, other may be booked
with just a deposit and the balance due at a later stage. Please bear in mind that fares are only guaranteed once full payment has been received and the ticket issued.

photome

loulou_lemon wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Back from Vegas and had a brilliant time!

Stayed at the Bellagio and thanks to the $20 tip we got a room over-looking the fountains and the strip. The conservatory was worth a visit as is the chocolate fountain & patisserie!

The VIP voucher for show tickets was invaluable as we didn't have to stand in line in the searing heat. Saw Penn & Teller at the Rio which was very good.

Took the helicopter trip with Sundance, booked thru Viator using discount voucher from this thread. It was worth every penny of $300 (including surcharge) and I would recommend it as a definite must do.

Shopping was v good due to strong pound. (Macy's have a sale on atm)

Mon - Thurs was busy but not heaving & some restaurants have special menu's on which are great value. Oyster bar in Miracle mile was particularly good. Fri's start to get v busy so be prepared for crowds.

Best tip - take comfortable shoes!

Thanks again for all the tips & advice-they made a huge difference.

Glad you had a great time.are you a Vegas convert now?

The patisserie in Bellagio is def worth a visit.

It seems Macys has a sale on every time we go and my wife always comes out with more HANDBAGS!!!

Agree with ur best tip tho.....comfy shoes are a must