Discount Las Vegas Trip Report

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Las Vegas Trip Report

I  love traveling with friends, especially when I can find good  deals and am able to share the savings.  Spring 2014 I planned a trip to Las Vegas and got some amazing discounts.  I would love to share some of these in hopes to inspire you next  time  you plan a trip to Las Vegas.  Be sure to subscribe below for updates on my adventures and to learn travel deals I find and use to inspire you to get out there and explore the world.

My travel plans usually start with finding a good deal for an airline ticket.  If I come across a good deal it always seems the best reason to decide to take a trip.  Delta.com listed Minneapolis  to Las Vegas  for $199 rt. Using a perk from the Delta Platinum credit card I was able to book a buy one get one ticket; so passing  that savings  on to my friend we each paid only $100.   At the time of booking Delta offered an upgrade price to first class for $59 each way.  What a great way to surprise my friend, so I went for it! I only did it one way and later went back to see if I could add the return flight and the price was then over $400. Bummer! So it always pays to at least look when booking a ticket!

Day 1

I had rented a car from Avis before we left. I like using this company in Las  Vegas because if you are staying at an Mlife property you can return the car at the hotel  (You can get a promotion code by booking through www.Mlife.com, which is the players card program for MGM properties.)  We only rented it for one day and that way we didn’t have to on pay for a cab ride  from the airport to the hotel. (However now most people do have to pay for parking at Mlife hotels like Monte Carlo- so unless you have a players card that allows free parking it may not save you money.) I had rented a convertible but when we got to the Avis desk, we found out they were sold out of convertibles! We were pretty disappointed but after some searching they offered us a jeep with a soft top.  However we, along with a maintenance guy, tried for an hour to figure out how to take the top off. The Avis guy ended up cutting a strap and used bungee cords to try to secure the top down (the other side strap was already broken) Even though it was not what we had planned, we were so thankful everything had worked out and they offered us free gas and an extra rental hour because of the inconvenience.

After getting the car and checking into the hotel we started the drive  up to Mount Charleston  for some great hiking. Down at the strip it was  80 degrees that day and in the Mountains it was only 60 degrees F! With the top down….we had to Crank up the heat up to stay warm!!   Driving back to the strip was not easy because of the high winds, the speeds people go on the freeway and the top being down in a box-like vehicle…but we made it back to the hotel safely (even thought my hands felt like they were permanently formed because of my death grip on the steering wheel to keep the jeep in my lane!

Another way I get deals for Vegas is by playing Myvegas, an online game where you can earn gold coins and trade them in for real rewards. ( available in the App Store)  That night we used Myvegas  rewards to see Men of the Strip.  What can I say….we had no idea what to expect but it was actually really fun with a club like atmosphere-much different from Thunder from Down Under or Chippendales.  (this was a one time deal but MyVEGAS does occasionally have rewards for special shows and concerts )

After the show we met up with some more friends that had just flew in and headed up to the Foundation Room at the top of  Mandalay Bay.  Usually there is a fee to enter but we were able to redeem a MyVEGAS reward and got in for free. We actually felt pretty special going up there, like we were part of a special club! The view was amazing and it was just a great place to hang out and talk and listen to music.

Day 2

Since I still had the car for the morning, I was able to pick up some other friends from the airport. It is nice the Monte Carlo is so close! (Right on Las Vegas Blvd, Left on Tropicana and right on Paradise and you are there!)
That day we ate at the Pub in Monte Carlo using food credit. When we had booked the room, we had gotten a great deal through Facebook (Monte Carlo) under Society 96 with low rates and $75 food credit that could be used over the two days.

Before leaving for Vegas I had found tickets to Jeff Civillco magician (www.jeffcivillico.com) on ebay and got them for $7 a piece and  additional tickets could be bought for $10 a piece. This was a great deal for all of us and so we walked to The Quad for the 4 pm show. It was an entertaining show and we sat right up front. Not sure how he balances a full size ladder on his chin but he does!

Walking back after the show we discovered a new boulevard with restaurants and a new hotel called The Linq. At the end is the High Roller, which is the highest observation wheel in the world at 550 feet. It was FREE this day to ride because they were testing their systems. What great luck! Normal prices were $25-$35. Each pod fits around 40 people and it is very comfortable. I do not like heights and I get motion sick but could not even feel that I was moving. It was great  and I would even pay to go on it again.   .

$7 Discount for Day and Night Rides at High Roller at The LINQ Las Vegas! Purchase tickets now, using promo code HRAFF7

On the way back from the ride, we stopped at Planet Hollywood to redeem a Groupon. I had found a deal that if you open up a new account you get $10 off your first Groupon  purchase. We got the 2 Yard Size drinks at Fresh Grill in the mall part of the hotel, so each drink came to $5.50 and was enough for all 6 of us to share!

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For dinner that night we went to Nine Fine Irishman at New York New York. We all redeemed MYVEGAS rewards to knock $80 off our bill. The food was excellent, especially the house salad (who would have thought!) and the Pot pie!! The atmosphere was great too with new outdoor seating.

That night we wanted to go dancing, so earlier I called the concierge at the hotel to get on a “list”. Did you know you can do this?  It never hurts to ask!. They said they got us on the list for Hakkasan at MGM!  I was excited because I had always wanted to go there. Well…..we got there and stood in line and found out there was a mistake and we were NOT on the list. Luckily the concierge person I had talked to gave me the host’s names so after talking with him, and pleading…he let us in!  Amazing!

Day 3
By now in the trip we have really spent NO money on Food, $2 each on drinks, and $7 to $10 on Entertainment, thanks to MyVEGAS game, Groupon, EBay and some luck! We used a MyVEGAS reward to eat at the Monte Carlo buffet for breakfast. The food was pretty good and there was a lot of variety. Later we hung out at the Monte Carlo pool and soaked in the sun and used the lazy river. It was windy but warm in the sun and a LOT better than the weather in MN.( Update- Monte Carlo pool is currently under  construction and not open). Later in the day, we ate at the Aria buffet again using MYVEGAS rewards. This also was a good buffet with a lot of variety of dishes to try.

This day  I had to check out of my room and into another one because I had booked under two different promotion codes.   At the desk I asked if I could upgrade to the Hotel 32, which is the top floor at Monte Carlo. I did not expect to get it for free but was willing to pay because it was well worth it to me having been there before and especially being with a group of people. Because it was now a Monday they had a loft available at a reasonable price! I could not pass this up! The room is 1400 square feet, has an awesome coffee maker, a lounge with appetizers in the evening and light breakfast in the morning..

Yea! That evening all 8 of us could hang out in our room comfortably, eat a little and get ready for the show.

We all got free or discounted tickets to Zarkana at the Aria with MYVEGAS. It was a great show with lots of acrobatics and skill demonstrated by the actors. This is the third Cirque show I have seen and it was my favorite, followed by Beatles Love and KA.

That night I had also preplanned a Limo to pick us up and take us to the Las Vegas sign and then to downtown. This is really a great way to go downtown with a group of people. The limo was only  $30 more than taking two cabs ( each cab will only fit 4) We were even able to stop at  a liquor store on the way!

Day 4

We were able to use the rest of our $75 food credit at the Pub in Monte Carlo for a late lunch and in the evening we went to the Piano Bar at New York New York for dancing and the cover was only $5!

Day 5
Because we had booked a loft at Hotel 32, it included a limo ride back to the airport. What a great deal!!

Overall awesome and memorable vacation with great friends!  There are so many fun and inexpensive things to do in Las Vegas besides gamble.  Overall I saved over $350 and as a group we saved much more! I am so thankful I had the time to research these deals before we left for the trip and have friends that were willing to put up with me and my deal-seeking!

Things to consider when planning a trip to Las Vegas

1 Look for discounts before you go.  Try Groupon, TravelZoo, Ebay, Livingsocial, Vegas4locals. When you are there find the coupon books in your hotel room. Sign up for a players card for additional discounts.

2.  MyVEGAS.  It can be time consuming but if you are going to play online games anyways it is nice to have something to show for it.  They have both slots and blackjack games (Update- the rewards have changed a lot since I started playing but the most valuable seem to be the Nine Fine Irishman dinner rewards and the Aria Buffet rewards.)

3. Consider renting a car for a day.   There are so many places to explore around Las Vegas that are off the strip.  Plan it so that it can replace one of your cab rides from the airport.

4.  If you have more than 4 in your group, rent a limo to take you downtown  from the strip instead of taking two cabs.  I always use Presidential Limo.

5.  If you can save money for some things, splurge a little on others like we did with our upgraded room. It makes for a memorable vacation.