Travel

How we travel: Las Vegas

We took a 3 days 2 nights trip to Las Vegas in May, offset somewhat by travel hacking. We chose to go on weekdays (Weds – Fri) to also have lower hotel costs and more availability when eating. It was meant to be a foodie trip, so we knew we were going to go all out on dining.

Car rental: $120. We used my husband’s corporate discount (which we are allowed to use on personal bookings). Normally the car rental might be 2 – 3x as much as what we paid

Gas from Huntington Beach to Las Vegas and back: $60

Parking at all hotels: Saved $18 at Bellagio

Total transport: $180 spent, worth $320

1 night at Palazzo at the Venetian:
– Worth $400 at the time of booking
– Received a welcome snack credit, early check-in, late check-out
– Had to write the customer service to remind them we should have gotten an upgrade for being IHG Platinum Elite
– We used 24,000 points from my IHG Chase credit card to pay for the night
– We paid about $50 in taxes and fees

1 night at Bellagio
– Worth $500 at the time of booking
– We paid for this with hubby’s Amex Platinum, and used $200 in Amex credits to offset
– My husband is Hyatt Globalist, which translates to MGM Gold status, so the $51 resort fee was waived
– We immediately upon arrival got an upgrade to a strip facing two queen, the views were spectacular of the fountain
– Parking was free
– Via the Amex Platinum we received $100 in food credit, breakfast (valued at $60 because breakfasts are so expensive on site), 4PM late check-out

Total hotel: $350 spent, worth $950

Food:

Dominique Ansel, Bellagio, 1 dessert: $14
Picasso, Bellagio, prix fixe 3 course dinner + 2 glasses of wine: $466 but we had a $100 food and dining credit
Bellagio Patisserie, breakfast for 2: $60, waived with Amex Platinum
Momofuku, Cosmopolitan, lunch for 2: $120
Lamaii, in Chinatown, dinner for 2: $80
Din Tai Fung, lunch for 2: $60
Costco food court, In N Out, 2 meals for 2: $20
Total food: $660 spent, worth $820
Total spent: $1,190,or $595 per person
Total retail value of trip: $2,090, or $1,045 per person
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