One of the suggestions last week when I asked for ideas to spend my money on was travel. I didn’t have any travel plans for the rest of the year at that time. Since I go to Vegas almost every year and hadn’t been there yet this year I decided to research the feasibility of a Vegas trip.
Another reason I wanted to go to Las Vegas was that I knew I’d be able to get some great bargain there due to having Diamond status with Caesars Total Rewards. It usually takes a lot gambling to obtain Diamond status, but I acquired the Diamond status when I purchased a one year Founders Card membership. One perk of having Diamond status is that you do not have to pay resort fees on your hotel stays in Vegas. With resort fees of over $30 a night at many properties, this perk alone can save a frequent Vegas traveler a lot of money.
Wanting to see what deals were available I logged into my Total Rewards account and reviewed the nightly rates for Caesars properties in Vegas for October and November. I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of low rates available and quite a few comp (free!) nights available as well. I decided to book four nights at Harrahs, from the Friday after Thanksgiving through the following Monday. The rates were super cheap on Friday and Saturday. Sunday and Monday were completely free. My total for the four nights came to $41.62 with taxes and fees. A nightly rate of just over $10 is a great deal. Friday and Saturday nights rates for Vegas Strip properties are often well over $100 a night even at lower end properties so getting a center Strip property for this low of a price is a super bargain.
Of course, I have to get from Kansas City to Las Vegas as well. I managed to book airfare there and back for free. For the flight to Vegas I will be flying Spirit. I’ve never flown them before, but they were by far the cheapest option for that day so I’m giving them a chance. The Spirit flight cost about $60. I booked the flight through the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel portal for a little over 4,000 Ultimate Rewards points making the flight free for me. The return trip was booked through Southwest using Rapid Rewards points. I did have to pay the $5.60 security fee for this flight. However, I paid it using a Southwest gift card I received for my birthday. The result is that I have round trip airfare with $0 out of my pocket.
My only expenses in Vegas will be food, transportation to and from the airport, and gambling. The food should be pretty cheap. As a Diamond member I can enjoy free drinks and snacks in the Diamond Lounge. I plan to take advantage of that benefit. I’ll make at least one trip to In-n-Out Burger and probably sample some other local fast food as well. My overall food cost will be pretty low.
It is possible to take a city bus from the airport to Harrahs and I usually do take a bus to my hotel when in Vegas. Since I’ve saved so much money elsewhere I might splurge for an Uber on this trip. Gambling could be a big expense or if I’m lucky it could result in my making a profit for the trip. I’ll set aside $100 or so for gambling and hopefully not use it all.
My Diamond Card also allows me to see two free shows while in Vegas. If my girlfriend had been able to come with me on this trip I definitely would be using this benefit. Since she isn’t coming, I’ll see what they have available and make up my mind on attending a show at that time. Even if I don’t see a show I will be getting great value.
Andy,
I have been to Vegas two times. I saved on meals by eating a late breakfast at about 10am. Lunch was a buffet that was eaten slowly so I could fill up around 2-3pm. Dinner was a snack or dessert. This saved a lot of money as dinner seemed to be very pricey on the strip. I also road the bus to and from the airport on the second trip. I could not figure out how to save on the hotel and I could have done better on the airfare. Thanks for the detailed steps on how you saved. This info will be useful the next time I go.
Naomi
I didn’t know you could pay for a Founder’s Club membership. Are the free room offers based on your prior play, or are they offering it simply because you have a Founder’s Club membership? It looks like the Founder’s Club is pretty expensive. Just curious how you justified it – were you assured you’d get comp rooms, was it because you have a local affiliated casino that has benefits, etc? You know I love to gamble so I just want to know how a fellow miser justifies the membership. Also, can you bring a guest with you into the lounges?
Great deal, by the way. We just got back from Vegas. Spirit isn’t too bad as long as you pack light. I splurged on Big Front Seats on the way home. I’ve been having some back problems and wanted to be as comfortable as possible. They were $40 to upgrade but for a 4 hour flight I sat in the equivalent of a first class seat.
Finally, how do you keep to a $100 gambling limit? I can go through $100 in an hour on video poker. I play full-pay machines so it fluctuates, but still… that’s not much money!
Naomi – Glad the post could help and thanks for sharing your tips.
Jon – The Founders Card memberships was $400 and I joined mainly to get Diamond Status with Total Rewards. The perk I planned on using was 4 free nights at Atlantis in the Bahamas, but I’m not going to be able to use that one. The free and discounted rooms will provide some value, plus I’ll get a fair amount of free food and drink while I’m there and maybe a show as well. Earlier this year I got temporary Platinum status with American Airlines which allowed me to upgrade my girlfriend’s and my seats to Main Cabin Extra on our flight from Boston to Paris and on my return flight from Paris to Boston. I never would have paid for the upgrade out-of-pocket, but still that was a good value. A really good deal that I haven’t taken much advantage of is that I can eat at the Diamond Lounge in my local casino (about two miles away) for free every night. I can bring one guest with me to the lounge as well. I brought my GF once, but she can’t resist gambling afterwards so it isn’t a good deal for her.
There are also some other small perks I’ve received. I think I’ll easily get my money back plus a little. I’m not sure if I’ll sign up again next year though. I’ll have to see what the benefits are at that time and how much they want to charge me.
The $100 gambling limit is aspirational. I did manage to stay below that limit on my last trip. I can usually play for quite a while at the poker tables with $100. If I start off on a bad streak though, I’ll have to raise the limit.