las vegas trip

[jason]

looking for a way to package airfare and hotel to vegas - leave on a thursday morning, come back sunday -- for some reason im not having much luck with online services (expedia, travelocity, etc) - no preference on hotel location (on the strip or fremont street)....


any suggestions are welcome...

[Adidas410s]

book early...and BOOK SEPERATELY!!!

Packages lock you in and give you no flexibility. Also, if you book a package and pre-pay...you can't apply any comps you may earn towards you hotel bill.

When are you looking at going??? Hotels have discounted rooms out through the end of May. Book a room early...and then if the rate drops, cancel and rebook. The flight won't get below about $260 on AA (direct) or $300 on Southwest (1-stop) if you're wanting a Sunday return. Southwest does put out $109 ding fares to LAS once a week...but you can't return on a Sunday. You could get down to about $275ish.

How much do you want to spend on hotel???

If you're wanting to stay at a nicer hotel...booking through Virtuoso or Five Star Alliance can offer you a discounted rate and they usually throw in a few perks (i.e. free breakfast, spa passes, etc) each day.

Do you have an AMEX card? Their FHR program offers similar to what Virtuoso offers.

I know p4s will disagree...but there's no need to go through a travel agent. They won't have the most updated information and you'll usually pay a premium for the same things.

[pirate4state]

Try MLT Vacations (http://www.worryfreevacations.com/) or Funjet Vacations (http://www.funjet.com/) both good companies for these type of trips. :)

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
book early...and BOOK SEPERATELY!!!

Packages lock you in and give you no flexibility. Also, if you book a package and pre-pay...you can't apply any comps you may earn towards you hotel bill.

When are you looking at going??? Hotels have discounted rooms out through the end of May. Book a room early...and then if the rate drops, cancel and rebook. The flight won't get below about $260 on AA (direct) or $300 on Southwest (1-stop) if you're wanting a Sunday return. Southwest does put out $109 ding fares to LAS once a week...but you can't return on a Sunday. You could get down to about $275ish.

How much do you want to spend on hotel???

or you could go this route....i never had to pay to go to Vegas :D

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by pirate4state
or you could go this route....i never had to pay to go to Vegas :D

Just let me be your travel agent. I provide my info free of charge (or throw in a SB square or two ;);) ) and can give you more info than just about anybody else you'll come across.

[jason]

looking at the 2nd wknd in april - hoping to keep airfare and hotel around $500 +/-

dont care where we stay - i think she would prefer on the strip since she's a first-timer...

[jason]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
Just let me be your travel agent. I provide my info free of charge (or throw in a SB square or two ;);) ) and can give you more info than just about anybody else you'll come across. haha...still plenty of those available, im hoping to win to put $ towards the trip lol...thank goodness for a big tax return...

[pirate4state]

the only thing i miss about being a travel agent is the free stuff :D

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by jason
looking at the 2nd wknd in april - hoping to keep airfare and hotel around $500 +/-

dont care where we stay - i think she would prefer on the strip since she's a first-timer...

$500/person I'm assuming.

[jason]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
$500/person I'm assuming. yeah - we would take $500 total though haha...

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by jason
yeah - we would take $500 total though haha...
and you're ok with flying either Southwest or AA???

[Adidas410s]

also...are you flexible with your dates??? The two weekends after that are both cheaper than the one you're looking at.

[jason]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
and you're ok with flying either Southwest or AA??? yeah - the gf's dad works for AA, and if it were up to him, we would just show up to the airport and pray we get a flight out (we can fly for free), but you cant reserve a flight, you have to see if there are empty seats on the outgoing flights - but me and the gf want a plane ticket, dont want to spend a day waiting in the airport

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by jason
yeah - the gf's dad works for AA, and if it were up to him, we would just show up to the airport and pray we get a flight out (we can fly for free), but you cant reserve a flight, you have to see if there are empty seats on the outgoing flights - but me and the gf want a plane ticket, dont want to spend a day waiting in the airport

Yeah...the midweek mid-day flights will have a seat about 95% of the time. The problem you're running into is the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) convention starts April 14th with about 140,000 attendees so it fills up the rooms the weekend before and pushes rates higher.

[44INAROW]

Jeez Ad - you know your travel stuff :eek: I'll get you to book my next trip :cool:

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by 44INAROW
Jeez Ad - you know your travel stuff :eek: I'll get you to book my next trip :cool:
I do travel pretty well...I do Vegas REEEEEEEEEEEEALLY well! :D

[Bull's-eye]

I just booked Southwest and got airfare and car (4 days) for 2 people for a grand total of $467. Go to harrahs.com and clicked on hot deals in Vegas, they will show all their Casinos in Vegas and the different prices of each one. There is a calendar that has the available dates and prices. The prices were generally cheaper Mon-Thurs and the most expensive on Friday & Saturday. If you're flexible, play around with the different flights & dates. I saved about a $100 returning Saturday morning instead of Friday night. I got a better deal booking the room separate, but sometimes the package deal is cheaper.

Also, get direct flights. They charge extra fees for every stop.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

i have a 3 night vacaton in La Vegas at The Orleans Hotel and Casino and have til end of April to use it. Never been to La Vegas, but been Atlantic City a few times. Is Vegas better than Atlantic City?

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by SintonFan_inAustin
i have a 3 night vacaton in La Vegas at The Orleans Hotel and Casino and have til end of April to use it. Never been to La Vegas, but been Atlantic City a few times. Is Vegas better than Atlantic City?
yes...very much so. I do know some that prefer AC though

[catgut]

I go to Vegas once or twice a year but in the past couple of years prices have really gone up. I always go through travel agent to get package deal. The last time I went and stayed on the strip (Luxor) I think it was around 800 per person.

But I've never been on anything except a Sunday come back Thursday. The Thursday- Sunday deals are a lot higher.

[Chopblock]

out there 3 weeks ago, it costs 3 of us 1150.00 to fly and hotel, left on a friday morning early and came back monday, stayed at mgm, rented a car and it was great, the 18 yr old got to experience espn zone during the playoffs
i went to binions downtown and had one of the best steaks ever. was a little pricey, but worth it

[44INAROW]

Originally posted by Chopblock

i went to binions downtown and had one of the best steaks ever. was a little pricey, but worth it

did anyone in your group get the prime rib there? It is wonderful! We go to Binions everytime we go to Vegas - worth the trip :p

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by SintonFan_inAustin
i have a 3 night vacaton in La Vegas at The Orleans Hotel and Casino and have til end of April to use it. Never been to La Vegas, but been Atlantic City a few times. Is Vegas better than Atlantic City? I've never been to Atlantic City, but this is really a no brainer. There is no place like Vegas. :D

[shackina]

iflysouthwest.com pick the "vacation package" icon!!!
used to the the cheapest way to go bout 4 years ago

[jason]

Originally posted by shackina
iflysouthwest.com pick the "vacation package" icon!!!
used to the the cheapest way to go bout 4 years ago wow - that site actually has the best package deals ive seen yet...thanks for that tip....

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by jason
wow - that site actually has the best package deals ive seen yet...thanks for that tip....
They've got pretty good deals...not as good as they used to be. Once they offered me $100 off/person....now it's more like $25/person and once or twice a year they'll put out $50/person.

Are you ok with switching to one of the 2 weekends AFTER Apr 10-13??? Let me know and I'll work up some prices for ya.

[jason]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
They've got pretty good deals...not as good as they used to be. Once they offered me $100 off/person....now it's more like $25/person and once or twice a year they'll put out $50/person.

Are you ok with switching to one of the 2 weekends AFTER Apr 10-13??? Let me know and I'll work up some prices for ya. its not up to me, she wants to go the week of her birthday...

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by jason
its not up to me, she wants to go the week of her birthday...
oh...ok...i'll see what I can work up for ya...

[shackina]

Your welcome! I love looking up the cheapest prices to travel. but its never for me!!