Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2015

Samarkand

Wahoo just booked for next August, 14 nights flying direct from Manchester. 1st 4 nights stopping at Wynn , complimentary upgrade to a Panoramic view and 2 free breakfast buffets each day. Just the other 10 nights to book now.

bobbyhibs

thanks blindman for the info, Im not a fan of credits cards im afraid but will ahve a look at the link you ahve given me so thanks for your time in responding!:j

thank you as well lesley74 and as you say its good to be in the know and im triyng to master the *art* of money saving and every pound or penny is a prisoner with me,I am well into playing myvegas though, another 9 and a bit months of playing to go til the next trip so alot of time to add more LP's thanks for the info though!:D

and many thanks duchy, As i have said above i like to try save money where i can and well i ve read a few people mention there saving money tips and im thinking gee if only i could do that and air miles well its a start !
Your right about myself and credit cards, Im guess im a bit weird that i DONT like being in debt(i dont think anyone does to be fair, so no offence to anyone)
If i can save money on flights,hotels, food, whatever i d love too, it ll soon add up.
and on your trips it seems a nightmare.I guess i have been lucky soo far, fingers crossed
Thanks again for the responses, :beer:

nvh

It's not weird at all (this website is tailored at being savvy remember! ) I've used credit cards since I left school and got a job, but never once paid any interest.

I treat the credit card as cash by having my current account, and a dedicated savings account. Every time I buy something on credit card, I move the cash from my current account into my savings account. At the end of the month when the bill arrives, I shift the cash over from my savings to the credit card.

Also worth noting, that some of the better 'beginner' offers are on charge cards, not credit cards. (ie. Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card is not a credit card, it is a charge card - but comes with some perks - ie. lounge passes etc)

You're are much better off reading up on the difference between charge cards and credit cards, and loyalty points etc etc through MSE's various articles to get the full picture the following articles are all easy to find and understand.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/cashback-credit-cards
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/loyalty-scheme-tricks
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/reclaim-tesco-vouchers
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/airline-credit-cards

The HeadForPoints mentioned before is also very useful and speaks to all levels of collectors / enthusiasts.

I think Duchy hit the nail on the head tho, in that some effort is required to get anywhere with points, and there's not much point investing little time or effort in it as the big results come with loyalty. 1500 Avios airmiles amounts to nothing, and you'd be better with a cashback credit / debit card so you have 'real money' for your discount, not worthless / unredeemable points.

My advice is to read the above links - if you're still struggling to get to grips, you're better with a cashback card

duchy

I've kind of done my trip report as I went along but just for Bobby

Flew out Saturday morning at 6.30 am STN to Gothenburg as a placement flight to start my transatlantic fare in Sweden . Fare to Gothenburg was £20. Breakfast at BurgerKing airside- avoid -it was gross.
Gothenburg airport is small but perfectly formed - and buses run every fifteen minutes to the city centre. Gothenburg is clean , fairly pretty with about a million shops but overall a bit bland. A day was more than enough The Americas cup racing leg was happening that weekend so the waterside was more exciting.

Started my transatlantic ticket from GOT to LHR with BA the same evening - and checked into the Heathrow Hotel on Bath Road - a rather blah four star but very close to T3 for the early morning start next day. Booked through Hotwire so cheap -I got what I paid for and it was adequate. Two pillows only on a kingsize bed-I rang down to ask for more ......and they brought ONE more....Oh well LOL

Five minutes drive to T3 to catch the AA flight at 7.30am to Chicago- No traffic as it was a bank holiday Sunday. The bank holiday also meant the flight load was very light and I had a row of five seats to myself. Usual AA service of meal service an hour after take off and pizza an hour before landing. I slept most of the way.

I used the immigration machines on arrival - they are available to US and Canadian citizens but also nationals of visa waiver countries who have an ESTA and have visted the US before within the last five years. Nice and quick-and easy. I was carry on only so no waiting for bags .

The connecting flight Chicago to Santa Ana John Wayne airport (the nearest airport to Disneyland) was a bit of a contrast- horribly overbooked- I was number nine on the upgrade list which considering I currently have no status with AAdvantage was a bit of a joke. As the flight was full I was made to gate check my bag which I wasn't thrilled about
Less than stellar FAs as I boarded two were having a shouted conversation down the aisle about an upcoming union meeting about their pensions-really unprofessional. Another uneventful flight -with older non engaged FAs typical of AA.
I called the shuttle and headed for La Quinta - standard La Quinta- pool, nice waffles for breakfast and a big clean room. Fine for a one or two night stay.
It was too hot the next morning to sit by the pool for long so I went to the airport early and change my flight to Salt Lake City to an earlier one for $50 - standard charge for same day change- for some reason my debit card didn't want to work so I paid in cash at the gate. I really like Delta - not sure if it's the tradition of southern hospitality but I find their staff much nicer to deal with than AA's - and far friendlier.

Flight was on time -as all flights had been so far and the shuttle for the Sheraton downtown arrived within fifteen minutes and I was soon checked in. I booked this one through Priceline on name your own price -but 90% of the time you get the Sheraton and I did. Also not sure when it started but priceline are now on Quidco. Room was lovely with a view of the mountains that circle the city. I was really lazy and had dinner at Dennys half a block away. The hotel's pool was nice and surrounded with lovely gardens that not only looked good but smelt divine with lots of scented plants and flowers.

Had a wander the next morning but didn't do any proper touring as I was been picked up at noon to drive to Vegas. It's about a six hour run although we stopped off for food and to visit friends enroute as well as picking up the third member of our party in Provo so didn't get to Vegas til 9. I love arriving at Vegas after dark whether by road or air as the lights always look so good. We found the Tuscany with ease....I didn't realize it is literally next door to the Plat so I waved at Lesley as we passed by A quick bite in Marilyns in the Tuscany and a bit of time in the casino and we were done.

Next morning started with breakfast at the Orleans (free for me as it was wednesday) the others went off to do other stuff and I played the Orleans casino for a bit as I wanted to stack some points there for future trips as this is the first time in years I've not had free room nights there -and seniors day gave me a nice points multiplier - I also got some free game credit for my birthday the following week. I got the free shuttle from the Orleans to Caesars popped into a few of the mid strip hotels -I don't like the additions to the Flamingo and unusually it smelt rank -usually it has a nice coconut smell but not this time. I came out through Ballys and walked back to the Tuscany. Usual Vegas stuff the rest of the day .
Next morning we used the MyVegas C-chair reward at Red Rock which was really nice, we had planned on getting there early and having breakfast and the morning there but ended up spending most of the day by the pool feeling very pampered . This is a c-bed only ours had gauze on the roof too for more shade http://www.oyster.com/las-vegas/hotels/red-rock-casino-resort-and-spa/photos/main-pool-red-rock-casino-resort-and-spa-v196830/

We also checked out some wedding chapels as the Tuscany (our first choice) chapel has closed . I was astounded how bad the aircraft noise at some of them is.

Friday night we moved to the Luxor for a MyVegas free night (I had wanted NY NY or the Monte Carlo but Luxor was all we could get. I wasn't overstruck with it so good thing it was free Honestly I prefer the Orleans to these mega hotels where everything is a trek. Already covered that Luxor weren't issuing myvegas vouchers despite the dates not been blacked out. So no love for the Luxor for me.

I really want to like the Trop but there's just something I don't like about it -not sure what it is.
Oh and the other girls went to see Air Supply at the Orleans -I really like the showroom there there genuinely isn't a bad seat in the house. $90 for two good seats wasn't a bad deal.

We had a great few days catching up although in reality we didn't do much

I flew SouthWest from Vegas to Ontario - short flight usual quirky SW crew and it's the first time I've ever heard when the ping goes when the door is secured that the announcement (tongue in cheek) is "Now get out"

AA back to London via Dallas was mixed -just over 2 hours to Dallas and I almost went to the desk to try and get on the earlier flight to London.....I wish I had as we sat on the runway for three hours with tech issues before taking off at 1am - so I spent most of my birthday sitting on a plane -Oh well.

nvh

nykied wrote: »

So I've still got a screen shot of Lesley's post about telling the hotels apart on Priceline Express. I think I've narrowed it down to 2. One is £149 a night and one is £82 a night. Both are 8.0, both have a bed choice. Venetian for the same period is £200 per night on their own site, £184 per night on booking.com

I don't know if people can see these links, but I put our dates (check in May
22nd, check out June 1st), filtered down to North Strip and the one at the top is the one I think may be the Venetian. The £82 one is the bottom one.

I can't say for definite, but as you probably realise yourself my money would be on Venetian @ £149

The £82 (£80 for me at the moment?) is a 4.5 star so is more likely Mirage or somewhere like that (at a guess)

I'm a bit out of touch with Priceline / Hotwire etc, but it used to be that only Wynn / Encore, Trump and Venetian / Palazzo would fall in the 5 star category

nvh

duchy wrote: »

I used the immigration machines on arrival - they are available to US and Canadian citizens but also nationals of visa waiver countries who have an ESTA and have visted the US before within the last five years. Nice and quick-and easy. I was carry on only so no waiting for bags .

Ooh. Please enlighten me more? To be clear, an ESTA holding, UK passport holder who has visited the states in the last five years can use these?

Were they much quicker? (Chicago for us has historically been queue-tastic!)

Did people direct you / encourage you to use them?

Edit: I am so gutted I never knew this!! Been knocking around since 2013 apparently. I'll break it to Mrs.NVH that its a "new" thing

duchy

nvh wrote: »

Ooh. Please enlighten me more? To be clear, an ESTA holding, UK passport holder who has visited the states in the last five years can use these?

Were they much quicker? (Chicago for us has historically been queue-tastic!)

Did people direct you / encourage you to use them?

Yes I believe they started in July across the board and I was surprised too ....but no they weren't directing "other nations" to use them. I've never found Chicago bad but this was super good only 3 people ahead of me.

And yes qualification as you stated.
Also not sure how new the TSA preclearence thing is but basically the shoes stayed on and the lappie and liquids stayed in the bag.....It shows on the top left of your boarding card as something like TSA pre chek and you go through a different gate at security. Worked on all 3 airlines on my trip.

nvh

duchy wrote: »

Yes I believe they started in July across the board and I was surprised too ....but no they weren't directing "other nations" to use them. I've never found Chicago bad but this was super good only 3 people ahead of me.

And yes qualification as you stated.
Also not sure how new the TSA preclearence thing is but basically the shoes stayed on and the lappie and liquids stayed in the bag.....It shows on the top left of your boarding card as something like TSA pre chek and you go through a different gate at security. Worked on all 3 airlines on my trip.

ah. Cheers. So it's kind of new then!

We have had inadvertent pre-check before (nothing on boarding card but diverted into the pre-check line a couple of times)... All seemed a bit odd!!

pebblesmax

We used these machines in Atlanta in March. Half of them didn't work, and I don't feel like we saved that much time to be honest. They did seem to be a new addition to ATL, so maybe we just encountered some teething problems.

ferf1223

we have used the machines at Chicago a couple of times and they were fabulous. The TSA pre-check thing is also interesting...I am sure I read about it awhile back, about how to sign up for a programme with that name or similar, and for some reason we didn't/couldn't...