It seems like ages ago, but way back in January we took a trip to Las Vegas (no surprise for those that know us). It was a last-minute booking with dirt cheap flights and accommodations to celebrate Mrs. FIby35’s 30th birthday. How did we do it for less than $500? Check out my Travel Hack Recap of Las Vegas, NV below!
Where We Went
Las Vegas, obviously. We spent 3 days and 2 nights in Sin City, soaking up some sun and cheap booze. We flew out of Minneapolis on a Friday afternoon with direct service to Vegas. From there, we walked, drank, and gambled our way up and down the Strip to our hearts’ content.
Flights
We parked in the MSP terminal 2 parking garage and flew out around 4:30pm local time, arriving in Las Vegas around 5:30 – love those time zone changes. As with our trip to Cancun, security lines were pretty much non-existent at that time, so navigating through the airports was a breeze. The total cost of roundtrip airfare was just $22.40 out of pocket since Mrs. FIby35 booked with Southwest points and I got to tag along on her companion pass for nearly free.
Our flight home was also on Southwest, leaving Vegas mid-morning on Sunday and arriving back home in the late afternoon. Nothing notable here, just more cheap airfare.
Transportation
Parking in the airport parking ramp is typically prohibitively expensive, except in the case of short trips such as this one. While our typical Lyft fare from our home is $45-60 depending on timing, we just drove our car and parked in the ramp for a total of $37. We did that knowing that a Lyft/Uber from LAS airport to the Strip is only about $10-15 each way, so it’s way more convenient and cost-effective than renting a car while we’re there.
Accommodations
The first night we stayed at the Paris Hotel, right in the middle of the Strip. Pro tip: if you’re planning a trip to Vegas, try to achieve Diamond status with Caesars Rewards ahead of time. Upon arrival, we saw the check-in line streaming all the way out of the lobby onto the casino floor. Lucky for us, Caesars Diamond members have a dedicated check-in line in a quiet little room off the main lobby, saving us probably an hour or so of standing in line.
Not only that, but Diamond status with Caesars Rewards also affords you free tickets every month to see a show or do an activity at one of their properties. Thanks to the pandemic, options were limited. But we still got a sweet view of the Strip during the day by riding the High Roller, a giant Ferris wheel behind the Linq hotel. All for free. Last but not least, being a Caesars Diamond member provides the opportunity for deeply discounted room prices and waives the resort fees, which are typically $30-40 per night at most hotels on the Strip.
Saturday night was spent at the fanciest hotel I’ve ever stayed in by far – the Waldorf Astoria. Just a couple blocks south of the Bellagio and right across from the Crystal Shops (the cover photo above was taken from our room), we felt like peasants walking into the lavish lobby of this place. Mrs. FIby35 had a free weekend night certificate for a Hilton property burning a hole in her pocket, so we got great value using that here and avoiding the ~$300 per night rate. It also came with $25 drink credits for each of us to use at the Skybar on the 23rd floor of the hotel overlooking the Strip. Granted, $25 doesn’t go to far in this scenario, but it was still a cool experience.
Food & Drink
The fancy drinks were fun and all, but at some point you have to actually eat. We’ve been to Las Vegas enough times now to know where some of our favorite cheap eats are, and we try to share the massive portions. One of the great things about Vegas is the amount of new restaurants opening up all the time – always new options to try out.
Also, one of my favorite pastimes involves waking up early in the morning, stopping at CVS and picking up a large can of beer, and strolling the quiet Strip while the sun rises. More cities should allow open alcoholic containers…or maybe that would ruin the appeal. Either way, I did that a couple times on this trip. But none of our culinary exploits compared to the dinner we had to celebrate Mrs. FIby35’s birthday…
You guys. I don’t care if you even like Taiwanese food, or Asian food in general. At least once in your life, you NEED to eat at Din Tai Fung. Mrs. FIby35 is obsessed with Asian food and I’ve come to appreciate it over the years, and I’m now well on my way to obsession myself. We’ve even tried to replicate some of the dishes we had there at home (with moderate success). The most incredible soup dumplings, xiao long bao, pork buns…everything was exceptional. It’s not the cheapest place to eat, but well worth the sticker price.
We wrapped up the birthday festivities by using one of Mrs. FIby35’s Priority Pass lounge passes at LAS to get some free breakfast, mimosas, and a quiet place to decompress before our flight.
How Much We Spent (and Saved)
So we did a pretty baller job of travel hacking Vegas, if I do say so myself. But how much did all that swankiness cost?
| Category | Budget | Actual | Notes |
| Flights | $22.40 | $22.40 | $11.20 per person + just 8,612 Southwest Rapid Rewards miles |
| Hotels | $25.00 | $22.68 | 1 deeply discounted night at the Paris Hotel; 1 Hilton free weekend night certificate |
| Food/Drink | $220.00 | $246.17 | We can’t get everything for free. And the birthday dinner was totally worth it. |
| Entertainment | $150.00 | $135.00 | High Roller was free, but Vegas still takes its cut at the machines |
| Transportation | $80.00 | $64.98 | $28 Lyft between LAS and the Strip; $37 for MSP ramp parking |
| TOTAL | $497.50 | $491.23 |
The cash price of the flights was pretty reasonable, but I tend to lean towards using points (especially when we still have so many of them). We estimate them to be maybe $100/person round trip, saving us about $200 total. We did pay cash for the night at the Paris Hotel since rates using our status were so low and did not have to pay resort fees ($40/night). The night at the Waldorf Astoria was easily a $300 value plus the $25 drink credits we received for the Skybar. Finally, we received the High Roller tickets for free ($25/each) and probably $30 worth of food/drink at the Priority Pass airport lounge. For a rough estimate, I’d say we saved about $870 by travel hacking our trip to Las Vegas.
Conclusion
Las Vegas has come to be a favorite destination of ours for a quick weekend getaway, and it certainly did not disappoint this time. If you’ve read my monthly financial updates thus far, you know that we already returned to Vegas once since this trip. It can certainly be a tourist trap of $20 souvenir alcoholic slushies and throwing your hard-earned cash away at the blackjack table, but we opt for a more restrained approach that works for us each time we go. Judging by the amount we saved by travel hacking, I’d say our approach pays off.
