Vegas query - peoples booking experience BA & LHR for 2013

[poker_jason]

Flight/hotel Pricing Query.

Booking from LHR on fixed dates for Wife and I for next May. Flying BA.

Does anyone have any idea on how much flight prices will fluctuate between Now and Next May (24th)?

Does anyone know at which point I can probably expect the lowest price? (e.g. is there likely/typically/usually a drop around Nov/Jan time?

I"m familiar with Virgin, i.e. I know they will offers discounted flights at some point and roughly how much I can expect to pay. Unfortunately I"m tied to LHR & BA. I"m flying direct.

I know the prices for hotels fluctuate daily. But how low could I get the Bellagio/Venetian for? I have a cover booking for the Mirage at ~£80 pn.

Also, will I get Harrahs for less than £50 pn? (Move there when wife goes home).

All responses appreciated.

Cheers J.

[Paulie_D]

BA/VS prices really don"t fluctuate a great deal. They have an established market that isn"t going anywhere so they don"t feel the need to cut prices on that route very often.

Expect around £400/500 p.p. in Economy or £850/900 in PE.

You"re planning a LOOONG way out but I would expect a VS sale around November but, as I said, don"t pin your hopes on huge savings.

I have no experience of the B but the Venetian is usually around $139 for weekdays going up to c.$179 for weekends. I think you can reduce this somewhat by getting their poker room rate or, if available, playing in the Deepstack series. For the poker room rate i think the qualifying period is quite long (5 - 6 hours cash play p/d) so you are stuck there for quite a while.

£80 a night at Mirage seems like a lot to me...that"s $120 a night...I"m sure you could do better. (see my comment for SmarterVegas)

Or perhaps try TI (I am) as it"s even closer. I got TI for $45 a night with an offer through SmarterVegas.

Harrahs is usually available for c.$35 - 50 a night for their cheapest room, cheaper if you have some play on a Total Rewards card. Nowhere near £50 a night....I wouldn"t pay that for Harrahs.

[KarmaDope]

Good god Jase, cancel that Mirage booking!

Book direct with Harrahs when you can spot a decent offer. Prices are in the range of what Paulie said.

Flights...now this is my area of "expertise". BA only though.

You might just get lucky. Last year, BA had a sale which began on August 24th - and they generally hold their sales around the same time each year. Sadly, I can"t predict what the prices are going to be. Last year"s were bad = £550/£1100 but then they only ran one flight a day. You might get lucky as BA are starting a second plane to Vegas next year. Then again, you might not as it"s flying ex-LGW, NOT ex-LHR.  

The other option you might have, apart from Virgin, is to fly from LHR to LAX and drive up to Vegas after a few hrs kip/the next day. As BA have 4/5 flights direct to LAX, the price (despite being further away) is definitely cheaper - looking at £450/£900.

[mylesfdo]

Good god Jase, cancel that Mirage booking!

Book direct with Harrahs when you can spot a decent offer. Prices are in the range of what Paulie said.

Flights...now this is my area of "expertise". BA only though.

You might just get lucky. Last year, BA had a sale which began on August 24th - and they generally hold their sales around the same time each year. Sadly, I can"t predict what the prices are going to be. Last year"s were bad = £550/£1100 but then they only ran one flight a day. You might get lucky as BA are starting a second plane to Vegas next year. Then again, you might not as it"s flying ex-LGW, NOT ex-LHR.  

The other option you might have, apart from Virgin, is to fly from LHR to LAX and drive up to Vegas after a few hrs kip/the next day. As BA have 4/5 flights direct to LAX, the price (despite being further away) is definitely cheaper - looking at £450/£900.

Adam......u involved in travel industry?.....looking to book for SF around Christmas time or vicd versa for gf to visit and could do with someone decent looking into it for me.....pm me if u can help and will let know dates

[duke3016]

Myles - put your trust in the official Travel Guru - Mr PaulieD - he da man  

[mylesfdo]

BA/VS prices really don"t fluctuate a great deal. They have an established market that isn"t going anywhere so they don"t feel the need to cut prices on that route very often.

Expect around £400/500 p.p. in Economy or £850/900 in PE.

You"re planning a LOOONG way out but I would expect a VS sale around November but, as I said, don"t pin your hopes on huge savings.

I have no experience of the B but the Venetian is usually around $139 for weekdays going up to c.$179 for weekends. I think you can reduce this somewhat by getting their poker room rate or, if available, playing in the Deepstack series. For the poker room rate i think the qualifying period is quite long (5 - 6 hours cash play p/d) so you are stuck there for quite a while.

£80 a night at Mirage seems like a lot to me...that"s $120 a night...I"m sure you could do better. (see my comment for SmarterVegas)

Or perhaps try TI (I am) as it"s even closer. I got TI for $45 a night with an offer through SmarterVegas.

Harrahs is usually available for c.$35 - 50 a night for their cheapest room, cheaper if you have some play on a Total Rewards card. Nowhere near £50 a night....I wouldn"t pay that for Harrahs.

Paulie see ^^^^^ if u fancy having a look for me and helping out!!

[Paulie_D]

Paulie see ^^^^^ if u fancy having a look for me and helping out!!

Can"t take that much time out of my day but you might want to look at Kayak.co.uk.

Select the "My dates are flexible" option and then "flex month".

Add in your start and end dates and it will give you prices for the whole period.

[Paulie_D]

Unfortunately I"m tied to LHR & BA. I"m flying direct.

See...this is gonna bite you in the posterior....I don"t know why you are tied to one airport and a single carrier and no stops but if that IS the case then you"re just going to have to take what they give you.

By adding just a little flexibility it is possible that you could save some money. You might want to look into BA codeshares as another option.

As for one-stopping, you have multiple options, Adam mentioned one (LAX) but don"t discount San Francisco (SFO). The flight time is about the same as to LAX and then the internal flight is only a few minutes longer.

If you have the time, the drive from LA is a fun one (but long)...budget at least 6 - 7 hours depending on traffic. An overnight stay somewhere in between can make it sort of a road trip.

Otherwise, you could do the one-stop flight anywhere (Chicago, New York, Dallas), you just have to add in extra travel time.

I"m not saying that the savings will be huge (compared to the extra travel time...probably 4-5 hours) but it"s an option.

[mylesfdo]

Paulie see ^^^^^ if u fancy having a look for me and helping out!!

Can"t take that much time out of my day but you might want to look at Kayak.co.uk.

Select the "My dates are flexible" option and then "flex month".

Add in your start and end dates and it will give you prices for the whole period.

sorry Paulie only just spotted this!!......yeah already all over Kayak as by far best scanner imo......thought by what read above u were travelagent but obv read into it too much!!.....cheers for help anyways

[poker_jason]

Unfortunately I"m tied to LHR & BA. I"m flying direct.

See...this is gonna bite you in the posterior....

Yes this indeed. A fixed set of circumstances that mean that I pretty much have to take a specific flight out. Also, its likely to be first week of WSOP

Thanks everyone for taking time to respond and information.

My Wife teaches (Half term week), we"re in South Wales, flying direct is "time/energy saver" and LHR is "best" direct option. Cant stay overnight for early Gatwick flight, effectively would lose a day, and missus doesn"t want to do the extra drive.

Thanks for the guide for the hotels prices - just need to wait it out until prices drop.

One query, £400-£500 for flight - I assume you mean without taxes & charges?

Cheers J.

[Paulie_D]

One query, £400-£500 for flight - I assume you mean without taxes & charges?

Nope, that"s per person in basic economy.

Prices are likely to be slightly higher, I would suspect, just before the WSOP....it"s high season in Vegas and demand from the UK is higher.