Default Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2019

Pedrobandito

Morning All, planning my next trip (will be my 4th) to Vegas for about September next year. When do you think is the best time to book for the best deal? I'm usually one to book ASAP so its just done and paid for but i wasn't sure if that's how to get a good price?

luci

I booked mid August to fly first 2 weeks in June and got a cracking price. Not sure how as the flight schedule for the UK connecting airline is only released twice a year, and only a few months in advance, not 330 days ahead like the major airlines. With Virgin too for the first time, which has never come up as an option from our regional airport before.



However, check if there are any conventions on in Vegas for the dates you are considering, as any savings could be wiped out by high hotel rates.

Pedrobandito

Where do you find all the links for billions of chips on the MyVegas desktop game? i only ever get one for a few thousand

stevie11

Pedrobandito wrote: »

Where do you find all the links for billions of chips on the MyVegas desktop game? i only ever get one for a few thousand

They were on this forum last week, I think they have expired now but scroll back a page or 2 and give them a try.

First time in about three years playing I have seen them in that volume.

stevie11

Pedrobandito wrote: »

Morning All, planning my next trip (will be my 4th) to Vegas for about September next year. When do you think is the best time to book for the best deal? I'm usually one to book ASAP so its just done and paid for but i wasn't sure if that's how to get a good price?

I would start looking in Autumn 19 once all the flight schedules are out, plus look out for the BA/Virgin sales, they have good packages.

luci

Flights become available 330 days before the date of your return date in September 2020, so sometime in October this year.

You can set up email alerts with Kayak. While they can be useful, especially if there is a glitch or short time drop in price, I find them of limited use. The low price on the alerts is usually with an OTA (online travel agent) and often have ridiculously long total flight times with excessive layover times. I have seen flight times of 36 hours. That said, it gives you a starting point to look at prices ascending where you may find a better option. There is also Skyscanner, Google Flights, Momondo, etc.

Also, don't rely on Virgin or BA sales. While I have seen much lower prices during a sale than after it, the flights I got for this year were much cheaper without a sale than when there was one after I booked them.

I don't have a system for checking and don't even remember to use the sites I suggest to others. I book when I see a price I'm happy with, even though it is always far higher than I see others reporting on here, as even flying "direct" we still have a connection from Scotland to meet the direct flight. The most we have paid is just over £800 each and that was just for Economy and booked about 9 months in advance, but that year I was struggling to get anything less than £900-£1000. This year I surpassed myself and got both of us for under £800. IIRC, I found the price with an OTA on Kayak, but booked direct with Virgin for the same or slightly higher price.

vegasvisitor

luci wrote: »

Thanks.

I found a code for $5 off the first 10 rides which was a far better deal than any referral code I found so signed him up with that. 3 rides so far and none over $6 :j:j

Haven't finalised the last ride yet as I'm not sure about the tip. Driver didn't get out of the car, didn't speak a word except to answer me when I first got in. He didn't offer water, candy, etc. He was American so no language barrier. Even if he'd got out when we emptied the boot it would have been something. Not sure whether to tip or not or how much as we certainly didn't get anything to warrant one. Also not sure what rating to give him or whether to leave feedback. I still have a couple of hours before finalising it.

Thoughts?

Will be too late now as you'll have decided. We always tip, but not on the app. It's such a better price, and you feel you have to tip cab drivers, so I generally give the lyft driver $2. Maybe more if airport run and he has helped with bags.

vegasvisitor

luci wrote: »

Have you tried Kayak for hotels?

Not something I have ever used, but did a couple of months ago for some unknown reason. It came up with a cracking rate for a Corner Junior Suite at the Golden Nugget on Agoda, less than a third of booking direct with the hotel. I booked direct with Agoda via TCB. Not convinced it will be honoured till I actually get the room next week.

Not so much Kayak (used to use if for flights but prefer skyscanner now). I do you Trivago for searches, but I'm wary of booking through agencies I've never used before. I'm seeing some good deals with priceline though, and have just noticed they are 8% on TCB for express or bids. Might try a few bids soon.

luci

vegasvisitor wrote: »

Will be too late now as you'll have decided. We always tip, but not on the app. It's such a better price, and you feel you have to tip cab drivers, so I generally give the lyft driver $2. Maybe more if airport run and he has helped with bags.

So you tip a flat rate rather than a percentage of the fare?

The full price of our rides without the promo discount has been $8-10 and I tipped $3 on the $10 ones and $2 on the $8 one. Until this trip, I always without exception tipped in cash, even when it was a $40 tip at Alize. However with arriving on Saturday, I wanted to hang onto the cash we had until I got to the bank on Monday so it was convenient to add it to the Lyft app. Don't think I will tip in cash again, at least not Ride Share, as it is far less stressful. I think I am a reasonable tipper, but no matter how much I leave, I always worry that they will think it isn't enough and stress about it.

That said, I gave the waitress in Denny's $4 cash on a $14 something check today. She was really attentive and kept the coffee topped up despite us just having cheap food and that wasn't her fault. She was delighted, but I'm not sure if it was because of the amount or the fact I gave her a $2 bill!

I appreciate the input on tipping the Lyft drivers. Maybe I need to rethink my tipping policy, especially now that neither of us are earning and our income is nowhere near enough to even to pay tax.

luci

vegasvisitor wrote: »

Not so much Kayak (used to use if for flights but prefer skyscanner now). I do you Trivago for searches, but I'm wary of booking through agencies I've never used before. I'm seeing some good deals with priceline though, and have just noticed they are 8% on TCB for express or bids. Might try a few bids soon.

Trivago has always been my go to hotel comparison site, but booking direct rather than through them.

I'm not 100% sure how I ended up on Kayak. I think it was a pop up or push notification after looking elsewhere. Things I normally close without reading, the same as I never click on any link on Google with "Ad" against them. Well I didn't actually click on it, but it prompted me to look at Kayak as whatever popped up piqued my interest.

I had been looking at rates for a hotel Downtown with no idea what a good rate would be. A few days later I realised the rates I'd seen were good, but couldn't remember or find where I saw them, despite trawling through my browser history, etc. I thought it was Vegas.com, but the layout of their site didn't look like what I remembered seeing.