Cheapskate Vegas: A Vegas Podcast for Low Rollers
Society & Culture:Places & Travel
For this episode I want to look back on 2019, some of the highlights of things I’ve seen and learned and then look ahead to 2020 to help galvanize you and me to try something different and employ some strategies to make travelling more enjoyable and hopefully a little less expensive.
Let’s go back and look at some of my favorites of this past year:
Best hotel stay:
Aria
Gorgeous Well appointed rooms, as one would expectI like the way the casino feels---it’s very open, fresh lookingMaybe the most comfortable bed in VegasBooked through Chase LHRC Rate was just above $100Priority check-in$100 f&b credit---used at Carbone$30 breakfast creditIf you are interested in adding bank provided booking portals to your travel repertoire in 2020, start off right by checking out a recent post by BW on BougieMiles.com about the Mastercard Luxury Hotel and Resorts Portfolio. It’s underreported, but can be just as good if not better than FHR and LHRC.
Ok everyone, let’s go over these booking portals one more time:
Amex = Fine Hotels and Resorts
Chase = Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection
Mastercard = Luxury Hotel and Resorts Portfolio
Are we having fun yet?
We’ll get to this again a little later
Best meal of 2019
Alinea
Pricey---$600 a couple and upA true food “experience”Over a half dozen coursesA trip to the kitchen to see the showIt’s a world renowned restaurant and while I like to promote budget conscious choices, it’s sometimes fun to splurgeHonorable mention: Carbone
Wonderful, delicious ItalianCalm, pretty atmosphereI had great company on my visitGreat Italian food is hard to beatPenne with vodka is a mustBest gambling experience:
Craps at the Cal
A Vegas Vacation meet upMany of the gambling podcast community’s greatest were thereMe, of courseYCBOTBunBoy360 Vegas crewMost importantly, great community members as wellDynamite session---I think I tripled upAll this despite only 2x oddsBest points and miles learning:
Status Match Galore
MilesTalk has a great rundownBeing able to finagle the system in a way that one elite hotel status grants top tier status in a plethora of other networksCaesars Diamond and MLife Gold are great examplesMake sure to use your $100 celebration dinner before Jan 31Also match back to Wyndham in January as wellFor 2020:
Do a credit card audit early in the yearAre you using all the benefits of your cards?Annual fees are a “travel membership” you’re payingIf you have $1200 in cc annual fees, you’re paying $100 a month for that membershipIs it worth it?Do you have benefits that overlap?Is it time to close a card?Be aware of credit score considerationsAre cheaper alternatives available?I’ll likely dump the Amex Platinum this yearIt’s pricey at $550 and I’ve gotten full value out of it in the past, is was always a stretch to do soI’m not confident my travels will justify it this yearThe two sexy perks for me are Centurion Lounge access and FHRI may be able to supplement that with a cheap Mastercard that allows for access to their luxury hotel programAlso I need to recognize that while Centurion Lounges can be nice, I’m rarely impressed by them I can also just try to show them my Twitter feed to get in---the standard “do you know who I am?” usually worksCards I’m looking at for 2020:
Anything in the Capital One familyExpanding transfer partnersGood sign-on bonusesSpark has 200k after considerable spendAnother Amex card to replace PlatinumGreen seems fun but the perks aren’t a true “value” to meClear credit doesn’t cover full costNeither will Away creditGold is a front runner with the grocery bonus categoryTravels for 2020:
Louisville last weekend in Feb (had to reschedule)April 17 weekend - BiloxiFanboy Fanfare? A collection of gamblers and podcasters convening on the Mississippi coastLinks:
Bougie Miles MasterCard Portal
MilesTalk Status Match
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