Top 10 Ways to Save Money on a Trip to Las Vegas
I’m currently planning a trip to go to Las Vegas and I decided to compile a list of things that are a must if you plan to save money on a visit Las Vegas! Here they are!
Tip#1 Book Your Flight and Hotel Separately
A few months back I would have told you to do the exact opposite and honestly this will depend on when you book your flight and hotel. I’ve been checking daily at sites like cheaptickets.com (I’m not affiliated with them by the way), and saw the prices jump anywhere from $580 to $730 per person for the Venetian, where we really want to stay this time around. Unfortunately for the past week or so the price has been stuck near the $730 mark.
Then I found a deal to stay at the Venetian for $139 on a non-weekend night. Then I looked at the Westjet website and it just so happened that for both ways they were having a seat sale for only $98.99 each way per person. We plan on staying for 3 nights and doing the math, we come out to $567.36 including all taxes for Airfare and the resort fee and taxes on the hotel. I should note that when you book through sites like cheaptickets.com, the taxes are usually included so you need to do the math separately. For the Venetian, there’s a resort fee of $17 a night plus tax, so we had to factor that in.
Tip #2 Buy Tickets to Shows for Half Price
Unless you want front row seats, don’t buy tickets to any show in Vegas beforehand. If you’re trying to watch a Cirque du Soleil show, you probably won’t want front row seats anyway as it’s really hard to see. You should actually be a little further back to see the whole show comfortably without straining your neck.
If you go to Vegas there are Tix 4 Tonight booths located on the strip that can give you a 20-50% discount. Now you aren’t guaranteed to get the show you’re looking for but there’s a chance so I recommend waiting if you can or don’t really have a preference in what show you want to see. If you know exactly what you want to watch, when and have a seating preference then you should reserve your seat in advance.
You should also visit Tix 4 Tonight’s website to print their $2 off coupon. Get that coupon at Tix 4 Tonight’s website.
Tip #3 Get a Player’s Club Card at Every Hotel You Visit
Get a Player’s Club Card for every hotel you stay in and gamble in. Comps (short for Complementaries) are great if you gamble a lot. You can also get Comp points by eating at a hotel (as long as you charge it to your room), your hotel stay, and pretty much everything else you can charge to your room. Just be sure to show the card at all times when you’re in the hotel and you’ll get deals and possibly free nights for your future trip or more, at the hotel you use the Player’s club card.
If you don’t gamble a lot, you can’t expect a lot, but you still might get better deals than those that don’t have a card at all. A word of advice, if you are a gambler, don’t gamble so that you can “earn” a comp, it can be much cheaper to simply use cash to buy a dinner or a night’s stay. Only play within your means or you’ll regret it!
Tip#4 Use the Shopping Passport at Major Shopping Malls in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is known for the great shopping you can do there. I love visiting the Forum Shops and the beautiful Grand Canal shops of the Venetian. You can get a passport at the Visit Las Vegas website here for gifts and discounts at each shopping mall! Definitely take advantage of this even if you don’t plan on shopping at all. You never know what you might end up with! Just remember to print this before going on your vacation.
Click on Shop Vegas Passport for a pdf file.
You’ll also find a ton of different brochure books and coupon books at your hotel and malls, be sure to take a look as you’re bound to find coupons and deals that you’ll want to take advantage of. Keep your eyes peeled to save money.
Tip#5 Check About.com’s Weekly Specials
There are a number of websites out there that will give you specials but I really like About.com’s page as it is updated weekly and easy to use without the annoying popups of some other sites. You’ll get specials for hotels, dinners, shows, and more every week. If you’re planning on going to Vegas, you should definitely take a look at this page regularly so you’re not missing out on some of the best deals out there.
Visit the Weekly updated About.com’s Specials page here.
Tip #6 Saving Money on Meals
It can get pricey very quickly when you’re in Vegas. Buffets are a great way to save money if you go between breakfast and lunch, that way you can pay for one meal and be full enough for two. You’ll also have less people to deal with if you don’t go at 8am or 12 pm. There are also a variety of restaurant coupons on a bunch of sites like this coupon site where you can save some extra cash for shopping!
You can also get the Buffet of Buffets at all Harrah hotels for only $39.99 for Total Rewards members and $45.99 for non-members. You may as well become a member because it’s free, so save the $6! You can become a member at any of Harrah’s hotels like the Paris, Planet Hollywood, Caesar’s Palace, etc.
Here’s their website for more information visit Harrah’s Total Rewards Website here.
The Buffet of Buffets is a 24-hour pass to eat at any of their buffets! So you could have breakfast (twice if you time it right), lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner all for $40. Not bad huh? When I say time it right for breakfast, what you could do is eat breakfast on your first day at around 10 or 9am and then eat breakfast earlier than the day before so that you can fit it in since it is a 24-hour pass. Take full advantage of it! Definitely worth the $40, plus tips of course.
There are cheap eats around Vegas with food courts located here and there. You can also check out the Hard Rock Café and Cheese Cake Factory in the Forum shops for some decently priced food. You can always share bigger portions too.
Tip #7 Get a bus pass for the duration of your trip
Taxis can be hell to get all over the world. Las Vegas isn’t too bad, as you’ll almost always find some in front of any hotel. Don’t try to stop any on the strip, as they aren’t allowed to stop. The taxis are expensive and drive like maniacs as if they’re in a race to hit someone, not my favorite way of spending $20-30. And besides, you could get a 5-day bus pass for $20!
Getting a bus pass has multiple benefits. You can ride the 108 from McCarran International Airport to the strip and switch buses to get to your hotel. That’ll pay for your taxi or shuttle bus easily. And during your stay, you can use the Double Decker bus that runs very frequently along the strip as many times as you want. You can also go to downtown Las Vegas and other destinations like the Outlet malls!
Visit the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) site for more information about routes, timetables, rates, and more.
Tip #8 Create a Detailed Budget Plan of Your Trip to Las Vegas
This seems really basic and yet most people I talk to don’t create a plan for any trip they make, let alone a budget plan. All you have to do is write out the days of your trip and have a projected budget for everything you plan to do on your trip. This way you’ll know exactly how much you’ll be looking to spend for your three daily meals, shows, gambling, and other attractions like visiting the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay hotel. You should know exactly what you’re looking to shop for too.
This can really keep your costs down as you won’t go over budget and make impulse purchases. You also won’t go out of line with meals and if you do, you can cut back somewhere else. Budgeting is very important for vacations, you don’t want to come home and have to deal with a monster credit card bill. Keep your spending under control.
Tip #9 Don’t Gamble or Limit Your Gambling
The best way to save money when you go to Las Vegas is to not gamble at all. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible for everyone. I’m not a gambler but I like playing some slots and some table games just for the fun of it. I also always have a set budget for gambling. If I lose that set amount, I stop and enjoy the rest of my vacation. This way it won’t bother me and I’ll still have money to enjoy everything else the great destination has in store for me. So before you go to Vegas, set aside a set amount for gambling and honor that amount!
If you are lucky enough to win, then book your initial budget and use only the money that you’ve earned, that way the worst you can do is breakeven. You get to have fun for free and rack up some comp points! What a great deal!
Tip #10 Take Advantage of Everything That’s Free!
There isn’t a limit to the amount of things you spend money on in Las Vegas, but not all of us are high rollers. So, you should take advantage of the many free attractions in Las Vegas, here are some:
The Bellagio Fountain Shows
Every 30 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes after 8pm until 12am, you can enjoy the wonderful Bellagio Fountain Shows in front of the Bellagio hotel. You can’t miss it, and there are number of different shows so you can come back later and enjoy a different version with great music!
The Lion Habitat in MGM Grand
If you visit the MGM Grand you’ll see the Lion Habitat right away. The MGM Grand actually has a few lions and they rotate them so you can see different lions if you’re lucky enough, it’s a must see especially if it’s your first time.
The Sirens of Treasure Island
Every night at 7:00pm, 8:30pm, 10:00pm, and 11:30pm you can watch the Sirens of TI outside of Treasure Island hotel. If you’re staying at Treasure Island, you’ll get VIP access, which is nice since you’ll be able to stand in front of everyone. A very nice and sexy show that’s for free! Be sure to check it out.
There really is a lot to do in Las Vegas on a budget and that’s why it’s such a popular destination. This top 10 list should definitely save you a lot of money but if you do find more ways to save money, please leave a comment so that you can share it with others! Or contact me as I might create another top 10 list with other ways to save money.
Vegas picture by pudda on Flickr.
