Get ready for Vegas Baby!

[MingTheMerciless]

Hi
First trip to vegas in the summer coming up and I’m wanting to get maximum value for money. We’re booked at the ihg Venice for 3 nights on points. I was wanting to maximise the freebies available. My plan so far only extends to getting ambassador (40000 points) to get an upgrade and late checkout.

I hold ihg spire, Hilton diamond, bonvoy platinum and best western diamond select. Is it worth matching to anything else for freebies?

Any recommendations for essential reading in the points world?

[BP]

I’m sure that I read the Venetian will not be IHG managed in future. Maybe check your dates.

The 50 dollar trick might yield more of an upgrade than your status.

Never used points in Vegas. Always found some excellent deals with the best being a 2 bedroom penthouse at Aria SkySuites for 90 dollars. They picked me up from the airport in a stretch limo. The 90 dollars wouldn’t even have covered the transport!!

[stevenhp1987]

I tend to find BA Holidays cheaper or roughly the same price as BA flights for Vegas.

Prices this year are through the roof though! Really want to spend a week at the MGM Grand (for the pool!).

[Roberto]

Late check outs in Vegas are as rare as a running flush so I would not take that as likely. If you could squeeze them a little more then maybe 1pm as as good as it gets however just take your bags down stairs and leave them with the bell hops and go play until its time to uber to the airport. The flights go quite late mostly so you cant keep the room the whole day so you may as well discount the whole idea tbh.

Secondly upgrades, if youre expecting some Baller Penthouse with a wet bar you’re way off base. Upgrades might just be a higher floor or a different view , again its Vegas and you wont really be in your room that much!

Vegas is my happy place , I am sure you will have a blast

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[AndyGWP]

Hey @MingTheMerciless – there was the Wyndham / Caesars status match but I mentioned in the chat thread the other day that the plug might’ve been pulled on that one now (Wyndham have blocked Status Matches to other hotels, and Caesars are being more picky too). Shame as you used to be able to then match to MGM, and from there, to Hyatt

Out of interest, what was your points cost? (and are you sure you can still get Ambassador benefits there?)

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[ChrisC]

Even if you have IHG AMB an upgrade is not guarenteed.

If they are busy they can just pay you 10k points or a $50 food / drink credit instead

[MattB]

It seems the hotels are massively cutting back this year on offers/perks whilst prices are going through the roof. But occupancy looks like it could be at an all time time high so they can get away with it.

My wife insisted on a Cosmo Fountain Terrace room for our trip and the cost to me is eye watering as none of their standard promo rates apply to the premium view rooms.

[MingTheMerciless]

Thanks all for the comments.

I’ve booked the Venetian on points. What happens if they change brand in the interim?

I’ll manage my expectations accordingly but will still probably go for ambassador as I’ve got 15 nights over 3 weeks in total so hopefully will
Get some value out of it. (La and sfo as bel as vegas)

[ChrisC]

Don’t forget that you can use the AMB BOGOf weekend voucher rate for one weekend (Fri/Sat or Sat/Sun) of your trip which will more than likely recover more than the joining fee costs.

And don’t forget either the IHG railcard offers or the deals Emyr can get you

https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/railcard-discount-for-ihg-bookings/

Which will save some cash on the former or get extra benefits on the latter.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[modestpointscollector]

Sorry I don’t have much to add other than i’m heading out with a friend on a trip (not planned well in advance) and the prices are absolutely scandalous this year. £1k for a single economy return, that is not good planning! In addition to travelling mid July (we tend to head out in November for a few of our birthdays on the last 3-4 occasions) i’m assuming the 2 years of covid hit hasn’t helped and now they’re trying to claw it all back as quick as possible. The days of your hotel room being practically free are definitely not with us this year!

[The Savage Squirrel]

I’d agree with managing your expectations.
The Venetian is not “the IHG Venice” and is not an IHG hotel, they just have a partnership with IHG (for now). Good choice for a first timer though as it’s suitably over-the-top-Vegas.
They’re not that interested in your status with IHG – you’re still, as far as they know, a non-gambling 3rd party booking (i.e. the lowest of the low worst type of customer).

To be honest, the only “status” that matters in Vegas hotel/casinos is about joining the hotel/casino loyalty scheme, booking trips directly with the hotel linked to those details, and showing significant action (gambling turnover). At the extreme end this would get you your room/food all comped and plenty more besides. Not that I’d suggest this in any way – any perks you get via this route will be more than offset by gamvling losses (given average luck), but it is worth joining the casino’s loyalty club and using the loyalty card to make sure any gambling YOU WOULD HAVE DONE ANYWAY is tracked. At the more modest end, this might get you some discount room offers in future as you will at least be in their database as a player (i.e. no longer their worst type of customer). For example, I’ve had free room offers – for weekday nights – on incredibly low gambling amounts at hotels I wasn’t even staying at. That’s just the hotel taking a punt that as you gambled with them a little and are now on their radar, they’ll throw you a night or two and see if you do a whole lot more (which I won’t 😀 ).

Only place this doesn’t really apply is with Hilton, as the WA is a non-gambling hotel while Resorts World is still building from a slow start, so both are a totally different dynamic.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Sean Mc]

Totally agree with Savage Squirrel and you don’t necessarily need mega gambling. For my November trip i was offered (not having been for 2 years) a completely free room for 4 nights at any MGM hotel (i went with Aria) and $250 of freeplay and $200 food credit. On that trip i lost about $1,500 (less than the value of the hotel and various credits so a net win in y book) and have been offered 5 nights at the Bellagio in fountain view room and higher amounts of freeplay and food credit. Going to use them in June.

[jj]

This is possibly a naive question, but is there any reason to visit Vegas if you have no interest in gambling?

[GillyDee]

Oh yes! It’s bonkers! 5 minutes on the slots is my limit; not at all interested in gambling, but we’ve been twice as part of a month-long road trip. The hotels are an experience in their own right, pitch up on the right day (ie no conventions) and you can pick up a fabulous room for a song). Hoover dam is interesting too

[The Savage Squirrel]

jj wrote:

This is possibly a naive question, but is there any reason to visit Vegas if you have no interest in gambling?

It has a truly vast array of dining; including fine dining. Ultra-snobs may not like to admit this, but, for example, Las Vegas Blvd boasts a total of 14 Michelin stars. No other single road on earth can boast anything like that. Total number of restaurants (depending on your definition) all within a 30 minute walk of centre strip, probably nudges 1000.
It has a huge range of shows running nightly, from the Cirque productions to magic shows, performers (although not Adele as it turns out), comedy shows, musicals, you name it.
It has an extremely pleasant climate in the cooler 6 months of the year.
The resort pools can be spectacular if you’re into that.
So’s the shopping (as you can maybe tell, pools and shopping aren’t for me).
It’s a great launch point for a lot of the natural wilderness in the area. Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion, Red Rock, etc etc
It hosts huge conventions of interest to many like CES or the NFR. If therre’s one related to your business then your Vegas holiday suddenly became tax deductible…. 😉

Overall remember it’s, by nature, not “authentic” for those obsessed by that, but free of that need it is a giant adult playground. Whatever you call fun or are into it can cater for. Eating, drinking, watersports, hiking, Pinball museums, gun ranges, driving fast cars, swimming, pool time, indoor skydiving, axe throwing, ice bars, “adult” companionship, legal drugs, mob history, atomic history, helicopter rides, hot air balloons, Hoover Dam, NFL, NHL, desert quadbiking, spa days, water parks, top golf courses. Just wandering around the sights of the strip is a couple of days free entertainment on its own, and as for the people watching.
(please note I definitely haven’t tried all the things on this list by the way 😀 )

It even has quite a bit of culture if you scrape under the surface. UNLV (the state university) has a nice campus with some public access stuff and a number of lectures open to the public for example and is a 20-30 minute walk from South strip (so Americans you talk to think you’re mental for even thinking about walking that far – there’s Uber if you agree) – been to a coulple and they were great.

It may not be for everyone, but everyone should go once to find out, rather than assume.

[jj]

Savage squirrel, my question was one of genuine curiosity and wasn’t intended to sound snobby. Gambling and Vegas are so often mentioned together that it’s easy to assume that you don’t get one without the other.

Of all the things you say, the most appealing to me are a base to explore the desert wilderness, and a chance to gawp with wide-eyed wonder at the fabulous excess. So etching to consider one year, perhaps.

[The Savage Squirrel]

jj wrote:

Savage squirrel, my question was one of genuine curiosity and wasn’t intended to sound snobby. Gambling and Vegas are so often mentioned together that it’s easy to assume that you don’t get one without the other.

Of all the things you say, the most appealing to me are a base to explore the desert wilderness, and a chance to gawp with wide-eyed wonder at the fabulous excess. So etching to consider one year, perhaps.

Sorry I wasn’t clear in my answer. I wasn’t implying snobbery on your part at all and your question is 100% valid and reasonable. It was a comment about food critics and those that seek fine dining, who often deride Vegas as just the home of all-you-can-eat buffets and ignore that it offers so much more.

[BP]

The food in Vegas is mostly excellent. Even the simple burger and pizza restaurants are almost all very good. I had an outstanding and memorable meal at Le Cirque in the Bellagio. The Bellagio buffet was also memorable for the wrong reasons – the first time I’ve ever eaten prawns that tasted of absolutely nothing.

And being in the USA some of the portions are scarily big. An order of nachos resulted in an actual bucket of nachos being served. About 8 people could have eaten them!!

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[kjt]

Had 3 nights at the Conrad last month . Booked a city view king and was upgraded to strip view suite.
Room rate was $127 and was auto upgraded as Diamond. Also had $50 per day credit for breakfast . It’s a bit further north of the Venetian but walkable for a European ! Total bill was less than $500 .

[Mel TS]

jj wrote:

Savage squirrel, my question was one of genuine curiosity and wasn’t intended to sound snobby. Gambling and Vegas are so often mentioned together that it’s easy to assume that you don’t get one without the other.

Of all the things you say, the most appealing to me are a base to explore the desert wilderness, and a chance to gawp with wide-eyed wonder at the fabulous excess. So etching to consider one year, perhaps.

I 100% thought the same as you until I went. It was a lot more fun than I expected. Now been three times and would happily go again. We stay just off strip in the Vdara – we often just cook for ourselves as the rooms have kitchens. It’s a great pace for people watching, the museums are fun ( the Neon Museum at about sunset time is fab) and so much out door stuff around. I can’t believe I’m writing this but I would actually recommend it. At least once.

[NorthernLass]

Thought I would resurrect this rather than start a new thread. I’m going for 5 nights next June and was looking at Hilton hotels for a cash booking as I think prices are pretty reasonable at that time of year. Has anyone stayed at the WA? I’ve seen reviews saying it’s quiet at night which is appealing as we’re beyond the all night partying stage but the standard rooms look quite small and don’t seem to have fridges, which I would prefer in 40 degree heat! Otherwise thinking to book one of the Hilton Grand vacations resorts for the kitchen facilities and extra space.
There doesn’t seem any way to escape the dreaded resort fees on cash bookings but I did read a couple of reviews where people booked through Virtuoso and got those benefits plus their HH credits etc, which made it slightly less painful!

[Blindman67]

Not sure how up t o date this list is but some still have no fees.

https://www.smartervegas.com/resortfees.aspx

MSE used to have a very good Las Vegas thread.

Looks like the 2020 one has the links
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6087584/las-vegas-guide-and-mse-thread-2020/p1/

There is a 2021 one that is just chatter.

I hope to go again in November 2023.

Had to go in August one year for the Mrs 60th. Damn hot!

[Travel Strong]

Stayed at the WA, Grand Vacations, and the new Resorts World (Conrad) – and the only one I’d go back to is Resorts World (indeed I have rebooked for later in the year). I also took a look around the Virgin resort to see if I fancied a Hilton redemption there… and I was not enthralled.

WA is fine but I preferred having all the facilities of a larger resort, inc. Casino and expansive pools. WA pool is much smaller than most resorts.

Grand Vacations felt a bit soulless, like a Hilton warehouse for families.

The bar is high with Las Vegas – I wouldn’t want less than the Wynn/Encore/Venetian/Palazzo/Cosmopolitan standard. Resorts World just about met this standard, and is often a bargain. If you can source/buy the points = no resort fees. There are some seriously low cash rates on some days though which mean cash works out better (<$100pn + $45 res fee), and some rates have an additional $35 bar credit. Hlton Gold/Diamond also gets $50 daily buffet credit too.

[NorthernLass]

Thanks, @TravelStrong – it looked from the pictures as though the Resorts World hotels share the pool complex, is this not the case? Not bothered about casinos, I would be the world’s worst gambler! Plan is a couple of shows (Rat Pack/Elvis-era stuff), some good food, a spa day and visit the Mob Museum and the shark aquarium. And a bit of a wander and a gawp! We were last there in 1996 and I think it’s changed a lot …

[Travel Strong]

They do indeed share everything. It is really only the rooms and check-in experience that varies between Hilton and Conrad within RW. Crockfords rooms similar to Conrad, but have some perks such as buffet line skipping.

If it’s a one-off trip, I would always recommend a Fountain Terrace room at the Cosmopolitan – it is worth the $ premium for the experience (and also very central).

For many years Las Vegas was the one place I never bothered with the Hilton chain – due to the comparatively fantastic alternatives. (Those mentioned above (Wynn/Encore/Venetian/Pallazo/Cosmopolitan).