Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2014

nvh

jaytay wrote: »

Sometimes logging in and checking your points balance can trigger something on the Cosmopolitan website.

I didn't realise they'd fixed it - for the past two years or so, after I logged in it always said "we're upgrading the identity club experience (blah blah blah)" - was really annoying!

Well, from the wording, they've upgraded it to displaying just points and not offers, and my login details don't seem to work - so all seems to have gone really well! *sigh*

Well done IT department!

edit: oh, and you can only get in touch with them via. phone to try and rectify it - ace

edit2: damn, I forgot it was traditional for the US not to put a space in a post code - using "no space" has now worked for me.

1993 Identity Points - probably not even worth the hassle of logging in

Thanks for the heads up it was working Jaytay

duchy

lizzielie wrote: »

Thank you Duchy, will for sure check these out. In short we are quite easy going and like anything from music, historical places to tacky tourist parks and anything in between. Hence why we're finding it a bit tricky to decide. So far having an addiction to Simon Calder's travel guides to seek inspiration Sorry for deviating a little from Vegas talk!


)

I used to listen to Simon Calder's travel advice show on LBC and had to stop as some of his advice was woefully inaccurate ( I used to be a travel agent) so if there's something he says that really appeals double check it's actually right

Salt Lake City might be a good one for you - lots of history of the Mormon variety (pioneer history - that kind of thing) and mostly free entry as they are church sites - the city is surrounded by mountains which is nice and there's a decent theme park for the big rides which I skipped but son went to and they had a good time. It's called Lagoon http://www.lagoonpark.com/ and is 17 miles North of Salt Lake City. SLC is a Delta hub and SouthWest fly the LAS SLC route too so fares are competitive. It is driveable but once you get past St George it's pretty much nothingness til you get to Vegas so personally I'd fly it. It's a good contrast to Vegas with good priced hotels and plenty of eating choices. Driving up into the canyons is pretty nice too- might be worth picking up a hire car although public transport there is excellent too. You can use the public transit right up into the mountains if that's your thing. Musicwise apart from the inevitable country music there's also the Mormon Tabernacle Choir who are spectacular.

StuieUK34

My Input for Car Hire.
Notes: Using Debit Cards & Pre-Paid Cards only.
My recommended Websites: (I always pre-pay, i never pay at location)
www.alamo.co.uk
www.dollar.co.uk
www.netflights.com (usually cheaper than Dollar/Alamo)
www.usrentacar.co.uk (usually cheaper than Dollar/Alamo)
www.auto-europe.co.uk (usually cheaper than Dollar/Alamo)

Have previously used Dollar and Alamo rentals in Vegas.
I do not have a credit card.

When i hired a Mustang Convertable with Dollar, i first signed up to Dollar Express (www.dollar.com/Express)

Enter your details, etc etc, and when it comes to storing credit card details, i gave the number for a pre-paid card which had £10 available on it, but was also a pre-paid credit card that i dont use.
If i recall, they hit the card for $1 to authenticate it.

I then hired the Mustang via Netflights.com, and selected the upgrade option to include FUEL & Additional Drivers
Once i got the voucher from Netflights, i emailed them to ask them to link my booking to my Dollar Express account. Dollar Express would show the rental, but not show any details about the rental (as booked via 3rd party).

Full insurance and CDW/No excess is included when booking via UK Brokers...

Arrive at LAS airport to pick up car, go straight to the garage and show your rental voucher, Drivers license, dollar express (card or print out), and possibly a debit or pre-paid credit card if they ask for it (never asked with my rental).

Because the car is fully insured, fuel pre-paid, etc, i believe Dollar did not require a deposit as there costs are already covered.

Last rental was with Alamo, booked with alamo.co.uk for a Mustang convertable, selected 'Upgrade Gold' which includes FUEL & Additional Driver.

Completed the 'SAVE TIME' option online - https://v1.alamo.com/index.do?action=/hotDealsTemplate&msg=alamo-intlSaveTime

When we got to the airport, went straight to the garage, guy points to which row to select cars from... Picked Mustang and drove to the gates.

Guy checks booking details, driver license and asked for a credit card, i gave my Debit card but he didnt like that, so i gave him my Pre-paid card (this is the FairFX $ card which also has restrictions lifted, so 'Holds' can be placed on this card), he 'AUTH' the card for $1 , and we went on our way......

I believe by selecting the fuel option, it kinda negates the need for the rental firm to ring fence/hold/auth $$$ on your card, that being Pre-paid credit cards like the FairFX & Caxton.

I will be hiring a V8 Muscle car with Hertz this year, and although pre-paid and will pre-pay for fuel at the airport, i get a feeling they will hold the full rental amount against my pre-paid card will report back in May for that!!!

*** SecretMachines ***
If you can take any extracts of that and use on front page, be my guest...
The info helps for those who dont have credit cards.

If you have a FairFX $ card, you would need to email support to ask that the card be allowed for use with hotels/car hire, etc, despite them not recommending it (because a ring fence can take 1 to 8 days to clear off your account).

Bri1

http://www.americacarrental.com/

Have used these a couple of times, will beat any quote, UK based & phone number, Topcashback varies between 6 & 15 percent, found them to be very good

StuieUK34

For real ??
americacarental = Full size with Fuel/driver using Dollar 1 week: £203 (£218 with there cancel insurance)
Dollar.co.uk = same above except only £175
Usrentacar.co.uk = same above, only £173

Fair play to the guy who runs this from his house, but prices appear higher....

If however, this americacarental (aka drive-usa ltd) do price match/Beat, u book and pre-pay and get a voucher straight away so you know your booking is valid, then fair enough

Bri1

StuieUK34 wrote: »

For real ??
americacarental = Full size with Fuel/driver using Dollar 1 week: £203 (£218 with there cancel insurance)
Dollar.co.uk = same above except only £175
Usrentacar.co.uk = same above, only £173

Fair play to the guy who runs this from his house, but prices appear higher....

If however, this americacarental (aka drive-usa ltd) do price match/Beat, u book and pre-pay and get a voucher straight away so you know your booking is valid, then fair enough

Yes they do come out a little more expensive on first quote, but then they go & beat your best quote that you present to them, I use a screen capture & send it to them, Plus you get around 6 - 15 percent cashback on top of that, I currently have another forthcoming booking with them & have found them much easier to deal with than the faceless internet brokers, who dump you when things go wrong (previous personal experience in this matter)

photome

Bri1 wrote: »

Yes they do come out a little more expensive on first quote, but then they go & beat your best quote that you present to them, I use a screen capture & send it to them, Plus you get around 6 - 15 percent cashback on top of that, I currently have another forthcoming booking with them & have found them much easier to deal with than the faceless internet brokers, who dump you when things go wrong (previous personal experience in this matter)

which ones do that

Ady87

nvh wrote: »

I didn't realise they'd fixed it - for the past two years or so, after I logged in it always said "we're upgrading the identity club experience (blah blah blah)" - was really annoying!

Well, from the wording, they've upgraded it to displaying just points and not offers, and my login details don't seem to work - so all seems to have gone really well! *sigh*

Well done IT department!

edit: oh, and you can only get in touch with them via. phone to try and rectify it - ace

edit2: damn, I forgot it was traditional for the US not to put a space in a post code - using "no space" has now worked for me.

1993 Identity Points - probably not even worth the hassle of logging in

Thanks for the heads up it was working Jaytay

I can't get in even with the right postcode because I think I have a defunct card! We used our room keys for a few days before getting a separate card and I only have the room key

Bri1

photome wrote: »

which ones do that

Auto Europe, they were cheap, but Dollar at LAX Fraudulently added quite substantial charges, which we did not authorise & only realised when they appeared on our card after our return home.

We had to contact Dollar in the US to sort it out, which they eventually did, but Auto Europe didn't want to know, they wouldn't do anything about it even though we could prove everything we said to the extent that from Auto Europe's own records of a previous problem with them at Dollar LAX, so they knew that they had form for this as it happened before to a lesser extent to us, the arrogant smug pratt on the phone also called us liars, quite frankly will never use them again or recommend them to anybody!

photome

Bri1 wrote: »

Auto Europe, they were cheap, but Dollar at LAX Fraudulently added quite substantial charges, which we did not authorise & only realised when they appeared on our card after our return home.

We had to contact Dollar in the US to sort it out, which they eventually did, but Auto Europe didn't want to know, they wouldn't do anything about it even though we could prove everything we said to the extent that from Auto Europe's own records of a previous problem with them at Dollar LAX, so they knew that they had form for this as it happened before to a lesser extent to us, the arrogant smug pratt on the phone also called us liars, quite frankly will never use them again or recommend them to anybody!

Thanks, I had exact same issue at Dollar LAX hired through carhire3000 who did help me, but when I got a copy of the contract I had signed for whatever it was they took . I didnt intentionaly sign for it and had asked specifically if I was signing for anything extra, it does seem dollar LAX are the problem, as I have had no problems anywhere else