I used to go to Las Vegas mostly to gamble, and I actually managed to pay for my whole trip on many occasions, though my friends and I often reminded ourselves that they didn’t build these huge and magnificent hotels by sending everyone home with more money than they came with. But still, even if cash supplies are low, there is more than one way to get to Sin City.
Cashing in air miles is finally easy
Today I read an article in the USA Today about the fact that, for the first time since anyone can remember, it’s actually possible to cash in air miles towards plane tickets. Of course, this is due to the fact that so many planes are flying half full these days, so the airlines are actually thrilled to have a few extra aboard, since they have to carry those outstanding miles on their books as liabilities until they expire or are used.
The article mentions the 5 places it’s easiest to cash in air miles for right now, and Las Vegas isn’t actually on the list, but two cities in the region are, so I’m sure it’s actually something that can be done these days. I’d heard so many stories of people finally earning enough miles for a trip and then never being able to find a flight on which to use them, so this is actually a bit of welcome news.
Earning miles in the first place
The easiest way to earn miles is if you are somehow involved in business travel, since that means you are traveling while someone else is paying in the first place, and as a bonus you get a free trip later on. You just join one or more of the frequent flyer programs and off you go. You can also join the various hotel rewards programs, which sometimes can be put toward the air miles instead of potential free hotel rooms as well.
Don’t use hotel rewards points in Vegas right now
Sure, flights to this city are cheap, relatively speaking, from most American cities right now, but not all of them. If you live somewhere where the flights are over $300 roundtrip then cashing in the air miles can make sense, since there are usually so few chances to do so. But it’s probably wise to skip trying to get a free hotel room here right now. You can easily find a hotel in Vegas where a room that would normally be $150 per night is now going for around $60 per night, so save those hotel points for somewhere else and take advantage of these deals.
Getting here
So if you have a lot of frequent flyer miles saved up, it might be worth looking into the possibility of a Vegas trip soon, or you might end up having the miles expiring or realize you can’t use them to actually go where you want another time. It’s a bit tricky to use air miles to book last minute flights, but sometimes it can be done if you really try. This is a whole new ball game at the moment, so things that seemed impossible only a year ago are sometimes just there for the taking if you ask.
