How we saved over $1400 on our Vegas Trip

How we saved over $1400 on our Vegas Trip!

Disclosure: This is based on our trip this year. These are our views and your results may vary. This post may contain affiliate links which means I can receive compensation from any purchase through those links.

I haven’t been to Vegas since 1996, I was pregnant and it was hot. I was only there a couple of days so my memories are few. My husband has never been there so it was a first trip for him and kind of a first trip for me. We had so much fun!

Since I am currently not working a full time day job, we decided to find ways to cut costs and how to save on our Vegas trip!!

The first way was for the flights. A few years ago when I traveled for conventions, I decided to get a American Express Credit Card through my airline. I fly on Delta.

When I checked my account, I saw that I had accrued more miles than I thought and I was able to save $300 on our flight to Vegas. We were pretty excited about that!

The second way to save was on hotels. I was attending a convention on this trip and wanted to stay at the hotel where it was located but we also wanted to see other hotels.

We started to plan this trip about 5 – 6 months before we left. We started watching YouTube videos for tips and heard about a few apps where you can win free rooms and buffets. We were a little skeptical about it at first, but they actually work!

The MyVegas, Konami and PopSlots Apps and the Wynn Slots are games you can play to earn coins to turn into rewards such as discounted rooms, comped rooms, buffets, shows and more. You have to watch the fine print. Some rewards expire in 30 days, some 60 or 90. You don’t want to get a reward and it expire before you get to Vegas. The rewards get added to your hotel loyalty card THE DAY you use them. It’s very easy to go to the Mlife desk or the Wynn RED CARD desk to add your rewards. You can apply online before hand for the cards. Make sure your name on your account and your driver’s license match.

My husband and I decided to be strategic in how we used our rewards.
We both played the MyVegas, Konami and PopSlots apps to earn more rewards. You are limited to 3 premium rewards in a 30 day period. Non premium rewards are unlimited as far as I can tell. Always read the rules, they change frequently.

So back to the hotels. I earned enough coins to earn a free 2 night stay at the Mandalay Bay. This was so special for us because we love the show Las Vegas and this is where parts of the Monticito was filmed.

I also earned enough “gems” to book two nights at the Wynn for free. I was beyond excited for this one. The app updated the next day and now you have to earn vip levels to open up the registration for the rooms. I still play the app and I am working on earning rooms for our trip next year.

We also stayed at the Mirage, we payed for the two nights there plus resort fees. We did have a slight problem, our card was charged twice for the balance due and the incidentals fee. Tip: double check your account before they ask you to swipe again because they think it didn’t go through. Lesson learned there. Blessing in disguise, we still had money in our account when we got home, HA!!

One thing that I need to stress, each hotel has resort fees added to the cost of the room. It’s around $45 a night. We did have to pay the resort fees at the Mandalay Bay, but we did not pay anything at the Wynn.

So each room was a basic room that we reserved. One tip we learned on YouTube was the $20 tip trick. I was nervous to try it but so glad I did it at all 3 hotels.

The $20 tip trick is when you place a folded $20 bill in between your drivers license and credit card at check in. (I also grabbed my hotel reward card before checking in to give to them as well.)
When you slide them your cards, you can ask if they have any free upgrades.
Here is what we received.

Wynn Hotel – Free Room, upgraded to a bigger room, no resort fees (saved $500)
Mandalay Bay – Free Room, upgraded to executive, 2 nights resort fees (saved $370)
Mirage – Paid 2 nights, upgraded to King resort tower (saved $60 and no elevator lines, LOL)

Food:
Mirage 2 for 1 dinner buffet – saved $35
Mirage 2 for 2 dinner buffet – saved $35
Luxor 2 for 1 dinner buffet – saved $35
Mandalay Bay 1 free breakfast buffet – saved $25
Cesars reward card signup – saved $10 off drink at bar
Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquariam 2 for 1 – saved $20
Mirage Reward card – earned $15 drink credit
Mirage – $50 free play reward
Linq High Roller – discount saved $16

Flight – saved $300

Total saved $1471.00! We saved over $1400 on our Vegas Trip!

Excited to see what we can save on our next trip! We didn’t gamble much, if you do, make sure to use your hotel reward card every time. Before you check out, go to the desk and see if you have earned anything and you may be able to get some things deducted off your bill like the resort fees.

One important thing to know is that EVERY hotel will place a hold on your card for the balance of your room charge AND a $200 incidentals fee. The fees are released when you check out. You can charge things to your room and that fee can cover them if you like. The fee will be removed when you check out. Depending on your bank, it could be released the next day or a week later in our case. Now we know to budget that in for next year to have available.

If you are planning a trip to Vegas next year, start playing those apps. We make sure to hit the daily challenge each day and collect coins when we can. We try not to play all day, we have things to do LOL!

We had a wonderful trip, lots of walking, people watching and enjoying the weather. The Hotels and rooms were all gorgeous. Everyone we met was beyond helpful and friendly. There are so many things to see there and even though we stayed in 3 hotels in 6 days, we only saw a small part of it.

Special note: NEVER touch the mini bar or snacks on the counter. They are weighted and if moved of the sensor for a few seconds, it gets charged to your room. We did not do this but know people who have. There are more CVS and Walgreens by each hotel you can buy your own water or drinks and snacks for way cheaper.

Tips for next time. Pack lighter and order more packing cubes. Walk daily for weeks BEFORE we go. Pack more bathbombs and relief cream.

Comment below with any tips or tricks you have to save money in Vegas and let us know your favorite place to be in Vegas!

We hope you enjoyed the photos!

We could feel the heat from the Mirage Volcano across the street!