Ways To $ave

Saving Money In Las Vegas
The more you save, the more fun you can have without breaking the budget.
There are many ways to save. Here are a few.

Booking Rooms and Player Cards/Casino Comps –

Where To Book –

Booking your room the right way is a great start to saving money in Vegas. Usually the best way to book a room is directly on the resort site. You may think you’ve found a cheaper rate on a third party site, but they will not reveal to you the Resort Fee until you check in since that is a resort charge. Suddenly your $50 per night room turns in to $90 AND you don’t get rewards points on that amount since you didn’t book with the resort directly. Since the booking is not theirs they will not adjust any amount based on your play or spend. I have always received cheaper rates when booking direct.

Price adjustment is another perk of booking directly. For example: When booking my last visit, the room rates were higher than I liked. I knew we were going, so I booked to at least know the rate was locked in and wouldn’t go up. A week prior to my trip the price dropped in half. I called the resort directly and told them the price is now lower and they made the adjustment. In my opinion, it is crazy to book any other way than directly with the resort.

Get Rewards Points (Locally if Possible) Before You Book –

Sign up first for a rewards account before doing anything at both www.mlife.com and www.caesars.com Then try and get some activity on your player card by visiting one of their affiliated casinos. This isn’t always possible depending on where you live, but it does help your room rate if you have activity on your rewards card prior to booking your room.

What Kind of Room to Book –

Sure we would all love the giant suite with a gorgeous strip view and honestly the way room rates are in Vegas, it is definitely do-able on a reasonable budget. Keep in mind that most people spend very little time in their room. I would rather save the money and use it for fun during my stay. To each their own on this topic. It is purely a personal choice. Most of the basic rooms are very nice and if you ask nicely at check-in you can even score a better view for no charge. That has happened numerous times to me.

Understanding Comps and Using Player Cards –

I have already touched on this in the “Need To Know” page, but it truly is a good way for casinos to know that you are spending money at their establishments. When they know you are patronizing their establishments, they will reward you. When possible, I charge meals and purchases to my room. You will get points on those dollars you spend. The two major rewards cards are MLIFE (MGM properties) and Caesars Rewards (Caesars Properties). They can be very different in how they relay your comps. The two common ways are Front End Comps and Back End Comps. Let’s look a little deeper into both.

Front End Comps –

This is pretty straightforward and the only way to know for certain if your room will be complimentary upfront. What you pay (if anything) is what you are quoted when you book. There is something to be said for knowing upfront exactly how much you can expect to pay for your room. Caesars properties are very good for offering great front end comps, especially when you have two rewards players in a room.

Back End Comps –

Back end comps can be a bit more tricky if you don’t originally book a comp room. Basically with back-end comps, you book the room initially for a specific price (sometimes complimentary). During your stay, you use your rewards card for any casino play and also charge any meals, etc to your room account. Before you checkout, make a visit to the players rewards desk and ask them to evaluate your spend and play. I tried it on my last stay at an MLife property and it did work, but there is no guarantee so it make me nervous.

Back End Comp Example

For an example I will use this scenario:

I logged in to my Mlife account and checked my offers. For a 3 night stay, I had an offer for 1 free night. I booked the other 2 nights at $40 per night. Add the resort fee (even to the comped night) and my total was about $250 ish with added taxes etc. When I booked, this was most I would pay before i even went on the trip. While there, I charged meals, purchases and anything purchases to the room. The night before I checked out, I went to the Mlife desk. I asked them to evaluate my spending and play and to please make an appropriate adjustment to my bill. The MLife representative pulled everything up that I spent, did an evaluation on my gaming and ended up removing all but about $80. This particular time, they wiped out all of our charges except $80 bucks. So my original $250 for room rates, plus meals charged to the room for 3 days was dropped to $80. Not bad at all. This is totally up to their discretion, which makes me a little nervous about this method.

With back-end comps, the only downside it truly you have no idea what they will comp until you check out. I need to try it again and see if it is consistent. I just seem to like knowing before I go, but that is just me.

You can also use your personal rewards credits or earned comps to offset your room charges and do your own back end comp to cover anything left on your bill. This is different than being comped by a host or representative. You’ve earned your reward credits. They are available for your use whenever you chose to use them. It seems confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it you’ll know the best way to book your room to save the most money.

Online Games Affiliated with Casino Rewards Programs

Mlife has the only “free to play” game that will actually earn you rewards items. This is a great way to save money in Las Vegas. Yes, you can pay for additional chips if you want to, but if you don’t want to spend a dime you will still earn loyalty points for FREE. What’s not to like about that!

For Apple Devices:

For Android:

This is a fun way to earn some free things for your trip. Enjoy!!!

Coupon Apps and Websites –

It started with Groupon and now many others have followed suit. These sites have app in your app stores to make it very easy to redeem your vouchers using your phone. It is easy to change your location and use for anywhere you travel as well as right here at home. From meals to pool cabanas you will find so many ways to have fun while also saving money in Las Vegas.

Here are some favorites.

  • Groupon – Click Here to sign Up if you haven’t
  • Living Social – www.livingsocial.com
  • Travel Zoo – www.travelzoo.com

IMPORTANT!!! Before you purchase please check out the details and restrictions for each deal. Some have Expiration dates and some can only be used on certain days of the week. Make sure you read the details carefully.
I have used these several times and they are so easy and a great way to save and also pre-purchase some things to spread out your trip spending.

Timeshare –

A word of warning … you will be approached by timeshare salespeople in resort lobbies. You can spot them right away as most people are ignoring them and speeding up their gait as the pass by. They will approach you with “Would you like free show tickets?”. Best response is always “No, we are leaving for the airport in a few hours”. Most can find ways of saving money in Vegas without having to lose a day by listening to a timeshare presentation.
If a high pressure sales pitch of several hours is up your alley for some show tickets, by all means have at it. It is a personal thing and unless you truly are interested, steer clear.

Coupon Books –

Saving Money in Las Vegas can also be helped with the use of coupon books. A popular one is The American Casino Guide. It is full of great tips on gaming and casinos across the United States. Coupons can be found in the back of the book which can be used for discounts on shows, free play, food and drinks. The book has great info on all casino games and slots as well. Once you’ve used a couple of the coupons, the cost of the book is more than covered. It is definitely worth the purchase.