TR - Nov 4-9th Flight & Accommodations

Here%26#39;s my trip report divided into segments:

Flight: flew Southwest from Buffalo to Vegas, arrived 30mins early to LAS and 5 mins early to BUF on return, smooth non-stop ride both ways; friendly service

I have flown out of Buffalo instead of Toronto for several trips and the cost savings is very significant. Parking at the airport was $38 for a week if you use the coupon from:

buffaloairport.com/pdfs/BNIA_Parking_Coupon.…

8 round trip flights with Southwest to any destination and they will give you a free flight if you register for a rapid rewards card

Ballys: Nov 4-7th;

Checked in at front desk; had reservation for 2 queens, non smoking in north tower; tried $20 trick and was upgraded to king parlor suite in north tower on 18th floor with 2 rollaway beds; fantastic room with a jacuzzi, bidet, dual sinks

Price: 9/10; Location 10/10; Value 9/10; Service 9/10

Rio: Nov 8th

Checked in at front desk and asked for a complimentary upgrade; clerk seemed miffed that there was no tip under my credit card and said none were available; assigned 2 queen, non smoking room in masquerade tower on 33rd floor; get to room and upon opening door, found people already inside!!! Went back to front desk and requested to speak to a manager. Complained about mixup and security concerns of their hotel and was assigned a nicer room with a sectional sofa on 27th floor of masquerade tower and was given $50 voucher to spend at restaurants for the hassle

Price: 8/10; Location 5/10; Value 6/10; Service 6/10

Harrahs: Nov 9th

Checked in at front desk and asked for a complimentary upgrade; clerk said that upgrades were available for a fee; assigned 2 queen, non smoking room on 7th floor of mardi gras tower; smallest of 3 hotels I stayed at and comparable to a Comfort Inn in terms of quality

Price: 8/10; Location 8/10; Value 7/10; Service 7/10

I will post some pictures in the hotel sections of Ballys and Rio. I would normally not recommend splitting trip and spending it at different hotels but 4 of my 5 nights were comped. Be sure to read my TR for entertainment, food and gaming posted shortly!

TR - Nov 4-9th Flight %26amp; Accommodations

Sounds like a good trip but alot of moving around, revvie did you have the $20 folded underneath the credit c. I have not done this but want to try :) this next trip, did you have any wins?

TR - Nov 4-9th Flight %26amp; Accommodations

I kind of feel like trying it myself sometimes, but have so far only felt awkward. In fact, I felt awkward even saying, ';Are there any upgrades available'; which I tried at NYNY. They basically hardly acknowledged that I asked and said, ';We have you in room ______,'; and some other things I don%26#39;t remember. So, I just figured they didn%26#39;t have any, or they didn%26#39;t have any for ME.... :-) But, I would obviously love a free or 20 dollar upgrade, and want to try it. I just have to settle it within myself that I might just plan to lose a $20, since they may not have something no matter how nice I am, or how much I tip, I guess I could lose the same amount pretty easily while gambling, so it is another type of gamble.

I had my $20 underneath my credit card with the denomination clearly visible to the front desk clerk. I was lightly tapping the card on the table as I asked if there were any complimentary upgrades available and the clerk saw it and said, ';let me see what I can do.'; Do your research in advance of the property that you%26#39;re staying at so you know what kind of upgrade you would like. I was very specific with my request, otherwise, they may just tell you you%26#39;re being upgraded but end up in a very similar room and you%26#39;re out $20. A room with a strip view is not really an upgrade worth paying for in my opinion unless there%26#39;s other amenities in the room or the room size is significantly larger. I did not try the trick at Rio or Harrahs because I only stayed there for 1 night and normally do not spend very much time in the room to begin with so it%26#39;s not worth it. I am 3/3 with the $20 trick so far...twice in Vegas, once in Atlantic City so good luck to you! There is NO harm whatsoever in trying. Worse thing that can happen is they say no and you keep your $20!

If I do airport/hotel check in I wonder if it would work, I will have to check out MGM site a little closer to see what upgrade I may ask for so I can be specific. Thanks for all your diff. trip reports

So, would a twenty dollar trick actually get an upgrade from Standard to a Go room at Flamingo?

www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php…

Here is a whole thread on the $20 trick .hotel by hotel.

Really liked your review. Glad you seemed to like Bally%26#39;s as we are staying there NYE. That was so weird that people were in the Rio room you were assigned. I have never had that happen!!!

Hi Revvie

How convenient are the departure times on Southwest? Did you have to take redeye flights to get a good deal? Did you stay at a nearby hotel in Buffalo before flying out? I%26#39;ve thought of flying out of Buffalo but always wondered whether the flights were non stop.

Apparently so, according to your TR. There is so little competition out of Toronto that it%26#39;s starting to cost an arm and a leg with the hundreds extra in taxes.

I appreciate any info you can give me.

Wow - I just checked out the Southwest flights out of Buffalo and midweek non-stop flights are half the cost as compared to flying out of Toronto. The flight times were mid afternoon flights, with the return coming in at 1:00 am. I thought I had a great deal on West Jet - apparently, not so great.

Are these types of prices reflective of the typical cost at anytime of the year, or is it just cheaper because I%26#39;m searching December? Can I expect to see the same type of prices in April (the site doesn%26#39;t search past March 2007)?

Thanks for the tip - this could get me to Vegas more often!

Fellow Torontonians,

Prices will be more attractive in the fall and winter because it%26#39;s non-peak time in Vegas excluding the holidays or a major convention weekend. Generally speaking, it will cost approximately half of what you would pay flying out of YYZ per person so if you%26#39;re travelling with a group of people, you could easily save $1000 or more. Southwest currently has one daily non stop flight leaving Buffalo at 2pm EST, arriving 405 PST and one leaving Vegas at 540 PST, getting you back to Buffalo at 00:50am. I paid $188 USD, taxes in for my flight while a friend of mine paid $450 CAD flying out of Pearson with connections. Very easy to see the savings for the small hassle of driving 1.5hrs. Feel free to ask more questions if you%26#39;d like!