Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2021

nvh

StuieUK34 said:

@nvh

BOA ?   whats/wheres that ?

I got the horizon card (only used when abroad)  , i used it at the Casino Royale ATM which i think charges $2 fee now , and did use it at a drive through ATM at the bank of america down by walmart opposite side of airport...

ahhhhhhhhhhh, BOA !   = Bank of America !

Bingo. BOA usually seems fee free - possibly due to their acquisition of MBNA way back when (IIRC). Never used it in Vegas to benefit from this, but it worked well in NYC where their machines seemed to be all over the place 

nvh

photome said:

nvh said:

littlemissbossy said:

In previous years we have taken travellers cheques for our gambling money and cashed them in the casinos.  It seems quite difficult to get hold of them now... I just wondered what fellow MSE'er's do for cash.

Thanks for any advice. 

I typically use (in this order):
- MBNA Horizon (credit card - never been available to new applicants, but permits interest and commission free withdrawals and no withdrawal fee if used @ BOA)
- Halifax Clarity (credit card - available to new applicants and also commission free cash withdrawals, but you have to pay the withdrawal off straight away to avoid a small amount of cumulating interest)
- Revolut (you just load it up with currency prior to the trip... not sure if there are limits on what you can withdraw with this 'per month' depending on the plan you have with them?)

Just noticed the info you posted re the MBNA horizon card. i cant find any info about it on the MBNA website and I have just done an eligibility check on the MBNA website which results in me being preapproved for 4 cards but the horizon doesnt seem to be one of them, can you give me any more details please, I am thinking of ditching the JAJA card although the Barclaycard Rewards card is now top on the MSE travel credit cards so may look at that

Unfortunately it’s very niche and has never been available to new applicants. It was given by MBNA to people who had their old co-brand airline cards (such as the AAdvantage / Virgin Atlantic ones) to stop them from jumping ship

StuieUK34

MBNA Horizon =
We had Virgin Atlantic AMEX cards, so when Virgin split from MBNA, our accounts were switched to 'Horizon' VISA cards, which is a great deal breaker!  These cards not open to applications, so you wont be able to get one

https://www.headforpoints.com/2018/05/31/mbna-offering-uks-best-credit-card-travel-far-stop-defecting/

They are good cards though, no fee's when using overseas, no conversion markup, just pay in local currency and you convert at just under the inter-bank rate.....

secretmachines

Is it tempting fate to start thinking about a Christmas 2021 trip?!

Though I was watching something on YouTube that said the week before Christmas is the cheapest time... Doesn't look that way at the moment!

Also, has anyone booked 'anonymous' hotels through Hotwire and their Hot Deals? I've been watching the Hot Deal hacks and it looks pretty easy to work out which hotel you'll be getting, particularly for Vegas.

StuieUK34

never too eaarly to start thinking !

Were still booked for the 27th next month, so fingers crossed, we get our trip!
Tell u something, car rental costs = OMG, and i mean OMG !!!
Average 1 week rental for a fullsize car = £150
Cost at the mo = £450+ !!!!!!!!
Even a car the size of a suitcase is like £360+ !!!!
I booked us a pickup truck for £235 (inc fuel   )  which is a steal, so hope a back hander in the garage gets us an SUV (although i dont mind a F150 or Ram truck)

I got us booked into the Delano scenic suite, fingers crossed we get a high floor!

lizzielie

StuieUK34 said:

never too eaarly to start thinking !

Were still booked for the 27th next month, so fingers crossed, we get our trip!
Tell u something, car rental costs = OMG, and i mean OMG !!!
Average 1 week rental for a fullsize car = £150
Cost at the mo = £450+ !!!!!!!!
Even a car the size of a suitcase is like £360+ !!!!
I booked us a pickup truck for £235 (inc fuel   )  which is a steal, so hope a back hander in the garage gets us an SUV (although i dont mind a F150 or Ram truck)

I got us booked into the Delano scenic suite, fingers crossed we get a high floor!

Cautiously optimistic, our flights are on the 25th May... It seems to be a rollercoaster, one day it sounds promising... The next, not at all!

Car hire prizes are mad though apparently due to shortage of vehicles as the rentals companies sold tons of their cars. We booked last week, just over £400 for 10 days out of LAX. So yours with fuel, is a pretty awesome deal!

secretmachines

Well, the spreadsheet has begun 

Looking at 7 nights, from 8-15 Dec. Prices aren't looking toooo bad, but the NFL doesn't announce the 2021 schedule for a few weeks, so prices could balloon if the Raiders are playing at home the weekend we'd like to be there.

Not got quite enough miles for a rewards flight with Virgin, could top up with buying miles, but think we'll just pay for the trip as normal and it will then push us over the 30k limit.

Looking at splitting the week in different hotels, 3 nights + 4 nights. It'll be interesting going in December as we usually go for the sunshine and relaxing by the pool... so we'll get a different dynamic. It also means we can try a new hotel without having to have the pool as a consideration. I think the final 4 nights will be at Palazzo/Venetian as we really like it there. 

As for the first 3 nights, well, we'll see what's a good offer! Have only ever stayed at Vdara and Palazzo... so maybe Bellagio, Paris, Cosmo...

secretmachines

Prices not looking toooo bad for a bit of a splurge trip for two for the week before Christmas (not inc. resort fees)...

£1687 - 2x Virgin Atlantic Economy Classic return flights (direct) + 3x nights at Cosmopolitan in a Wraparound suite
£373 - 4x nights at Venetian/Palazzo in a Luxury King Suite

blindman

secretmachines said:

Is it tempting fate to start thinking about a Christmas 2021 trip?!

Though I was watching something on YouTube that said the week before Christmas is the cheapest time... Doesn't look that way at the moment!

Also, has anyone booked 'anonymous' hotels through Hotwire and their Hot Deals? I've been watching the Hot Deal hacks and it looks pretty easy to work out which hotel you'll be getting, particularly for Vegas.

It;s been a long time since I used Priceline and Hotwire

I even wrote a guide

Anyway at that time it was not a good idea to use either of them for Vegas as you are fixed into a price which is non-refundable and as Vegas pricing can be very fluid you may miss out on some genuine bargains.

Oh

And when is the front page of this thread going to be fixed?

secretmachines

blindman said:

It's been a long time since I used Priceline and Hotwire

I even wrote a guide

Anyway at that time it was not a good idea to use either of them for Vegas as you are fixed into a price which is non-refundable and as Vegas pricing can be very fluid you may miss out on some genuine bargains.

Old school link, nice!  

I guess it still just depends on timing, and putting the likes of Hotwire in the mix as an option.
I mentioned it as I'm looking at the Venetian/Palazzo in December, and prices are currently $100/night +tax/resort fee. Which is absurdly good for those properties!