Secret Car Rental Tips for Las Vegas Cha Ching!

I always rent a car in Las Vegas. Driving in Las Vegas is not that difficult as long as you can ignore the cabbies, the boom boxes, the gawking tourists and you can deal with the thousands of people walking on the strip. If I can do it, you can do it. Las Vegas isn't that hard to navigate and there are parallel roads to the strip, like Paradise that can help you avoid the congestion on the strip.


Renting a car has its benefits. I like to travel around the city and I love driving out to Henderson to the Station Casino's. A taxi will cost a bundle back and forth to the strip. If you are planning to see Red Rock Canyon, rent a car.


All the hotels and even the Fashion Show mall have free valet parking. Just tip your valet. And if you are planning an evening of drinking, get a taxi.


I consider getting the best car at the lowest price hitting the lottery. Rental cars in Las Vegas are not that expensive, its the taxes added on at the end that are budget busters.


Here's how I always score a good price. Check out sites like Cheap Rental Cars at Kayak, Orbitz Car Rentals Tab or Travelocity to get an idea of car prices when you'll be in town. Expect prices to fluctuate if a big convention is in town. Prices change all the time, so keep at it.


Dollar
has rental desks in all the MGM properties: The Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, NY NY, Bellagio, MGM, Mirage and Treasure Island. If you want to rent a car for the day, this is the way to go. Daily prices may be higher than at the airport, but renting off premises will have lower taxes since you won't have to pay the airport taxes.


Once you've found the lowest rates for your trip, check the rental car site directly to see if it is really the lowest rate. Sometimes the lowest rate is on their web site.


Now here is the fun part: Go to Bjs.com or Samsclub and print out the coupons for car rental discounts. Don't book directly through their sites, because you will have to show that you are actually a member when you pick up your car. Use the discount code when you book and you'll get a corporate discount. Plus, you can use an additional coupon you've printed for an upgrade, a free day or a dollar amount off the rental. I've never had anyone ask me for a membership card to either warehouse club, only the printed coupon. Input the coupon number to see if they will accept the coupon. Most times they will and you end up with a DOUBLE discount! Woo Hoo!! The exception is Thrifty's Wild rate, you don't get to use a coupon, but they'll accept the corporate discount.


Last week I scored a Chrysler Pacifica for $116.32 including all taxes from the airport for an entire week. Now that's a real deal. Cha Ching!!


This is really important: Before you leave home, check with your car insurance or your credit card to find out about rental car coverage. Some credit cards include it in your card agreement. If you have complete coverage, you won't have to buy the additional rental insurance that the agents will insist you purchase with the car rental. There is no reason to pay twice if you are covered. If you aren't covered, buy the insurance.


The agents are trained for a hard sell. The last agent I used was a master at selling. He lowered his eyes, he muttered under his breath about how car damage would bankrupt me and he wouldn't want to be in my shoes if there was an accident. It didn't work on me, I KNOW I'm covered. Check BEFORE you leave home.

Tips and Tokes in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a city that runs on tips. Once you hit the ground in Las Vegas, you start tipping. Love it or hate it, that's the way it works. Since its the best way to get good service, and these are real hardworking people, you tip for service. Most of the people giving you service depend on your tips to make a decent living. They have families, just like you. If you get good service, tip the person.

Here's my TIP: Get $20 in one dollar bills before you leave home and you'll be ready for any situation.

The proper amount to tips: Bartenders or cocktail waitresses, $1.00 per round for one or two people. If you want your cocktail waitress to keep coming back regularly, tip more and they'll come around and even beat on your machine for good luck.

Bellmen: One or two dollars per bag. Tip more if they are really heavy or give you extra special treatment.

Taxi drivers: Minimum of $2.00 or 15% whichever is more. Tip more if its a longer route or they give you information pn good restaurants or directions.

Change people or Keno runners: A dollar or more, tip more if you get a jackpot and they spend time paying you off.

Valets: A dollar or two each time you park or pick up your car. If you want up front service, tip a LOT more and you'll get special handling.

Limo drivers: $5.00 minimum.

Hotel maids: A few dollars a night to clean up your mess. I tip every day so the person doing the work gets the tip. If you request extra shampoo or soap, put the request on the bathroom sink with a couple of dollars and you'll find a lot of extra products. The maid can also be your best source of information about the hotel. I was staying at the Bellagio with one of my employees for a convention. I was in the casino, she was napping. The maid gave her a tour of a high roller suite and gossip on the celebs staying there. Turns out Brad Pitt was spotted there while they were filming Oceans. The maid told her that celebs use different entrances than we do and we'd never see him. We didn't. Wahhhhhhhh.

Room service: Sometimes it will be added to your bill. If not, 15 to 20% of the bill.

Housekeeping for extra service: If you request a refrigerator or extra pillows, tip a couple of dollars for their efforts.

Shuttle service to the rental car building: Since they will handle your bags for you and put them on and off the bus, I tip a dollar or two per bag.

Airport check in porters, curbside check in: $1.00 per bag will insure your bag gets on the right flight.

Restaurants: 15 to 20% of the bill. Large parties of 8 or more may have the gratuity added to the bill.

Buffets: Minimum of $1.00 per person to your waitress who brings you drinks and extra napkins.

Flying to Las Vegas, Its Such a Joy!

Flying is such a joy. I fly to Las Vegas about 5 times a year, two or three times for business, the other times for fun. And I always have to fly since I live in Ohio. OK, we could drive, but its not going to happen.

There are certain unalienable truths that follow me on every flight:

My flight will either be canceled or delayed causing a long layover.
If I have a connecting flight, it will be three gates away and will require a long walk, a tram ride and more walking.
I will always end up in the middle seat, no matter that I've chosen an aisle seat and was assigned an aisle seat. The airline will change the aircraft and give me a middle seat.
The person in front of me will be sick and cough and sneeze the entire flight. I will be sick by the time I get home.
The person in front of me will also recline their seat just to make sure that the germs hit me.
The person next to me will have long legs and will crowd my space and he or she will make sure they read all night long with the light on during a red eye or night flight.
There will always be a kid behind me who cries and kicks my seat until the plane lands.

I had all of the above on both of my flights to and from Las Vegas last week. I had an added bonus. There was a teen age girl who refused to get on the plane. She had a panic attack to top all panic attacks. She screamed and screamed and even the pilot came out to discuss the her not getting on the plane. Then she kicked and she screamed and her mother laughed. But she got ON the plane and continued to panic. Of course, she was in front of us AND she was sick, coughing and sneezing when she wasn't crying or breathing into a paper bag. Her mom started drinking and ignored her. The girl finally shut up two hours into the flight. When the flight landed, she asked her mom if she could sit by the window on the next flight.

And there is more. I flew on Delta. My connecting flight was canceled and we had a long long layover.
To quote Carrot Top, Delta stands for:
D Don't
E Expect your
L Luggage
T To
A Arrive

So we are standing at the baggage carousel, and everyone has their luggage but me. My husband's suitcase came off in the first wave of cases. I'm standing there like an idiot thinking about my makeup being in my suitcase since the airlines have the 3 ounce rule. I NEED my makeup. I can buy a tee shirts and wear my jeans, but to replace my makeup is going to cost some serious cash. Nearly ready to panic, my suitcase finally arrives. It was the last one off the plane. So what else is new? But our driver was getting ancy from waiting, he grabbed my suitcase and we were off. He kept saying there was something wrong with my wheels....when we got to the car, we saw one of the wheels was pulled off, the side was scraped and it reeked of wine. Since I didn't have wine in my suitcase, something spilled on it. And since we were three hours late, we left before I could go back into the airport to have a hissy fit.

I called Delta the next morning, and of course, they aren't responsible for wheels. I wouldn't have cared except it was my new suitcase and it had spinner wheels. My husband pulled on the other wheels and couldn't budge them. So, Delta isn't responsible. The suitcase company isn't responsible for carrier damage, so I'm screwed. I arrive in Las Vegas already down $300 bucks for a suitcase. Just my luck!! Oh, yeah, flying is such a joy!

The Rodeo is in Vegas

The Wrangler National Finals rodeo has galloped into Las Vegas. Its held at the UNLV Thomas and Mack center. 5.5 million dollars are on the line for the winners, so this is major. Tickets are hard to come by, they are usually sold out way in advance. Unless you want to buy from a broker or take your chances from a scalper, you can contact your hotel concierge to see if they can get you tickets. The rodeo offers mad dash tickets at $39.50 each, if someone isn't in a balcony seat 30 minutes into the event, you get to dash into a seat. Otherwise, its standing room, baby. This is a huge national event and people come from all over the world to see the finals in action. it features both men and women's events. Note that parking can be a nightmare, so if a shuttle is available, consider taking the shuttle.

Not only do you have the major events going on, but there is also the Cowboy Christmas. Its a huge shopping extravaganza that sells everything for the cowboy fan from trailer hitches to tee shirts. And the hats, its all hats all the time. They'll clean them for you, shape them and even help you pick out your signature hat.

Even non cowboys and cowgirls can find great stuff to take home. Last year I found a pair of purple flowered boots that I know can only be found in Las Vegas. And when I wear them, I get a lot of comments. I love them, they're so comfortable and they work in the snow. My husband found a pair of the most comfy and good looking shoes he's ever worn. Back to the original train of thought, this is a fun place to do some Christmas shopping for everyone on your list. Not everyone takes credit cards, but most do. Plan to spend a couple of hours shopping and you won't see a fraction of what is being offered....its HUGE.

There are concerts around town. A lot of the rodeo cowboys stay at South Pointe, south of the airport on Las Vegas Blvd. Its got an equestrian center and a place to keep their horses.
Ever notice they don't bring them INTO the hotel? ;)

I love cowboys. Cowboys come in all sizes, shapes and colors. You see them in the morning, you see them later in the day with a black eye or limping. What they do takes a lot of athletic power and guts. I was at a local rodeo where a cowboy got killed and it freaked me out. These guys are true athletes, its dangerous, its thrilling and they can get seriously hurt or killed.

But I want to know how they get their shirts so crisp and wrinkle free, even after wearing them all day long. I also want to know how they manage to get their name embroidered down the sleeve without the sleeve being taken apart. And do those huge silver award buckles hurt their stomach? My next trip during rodeo time, I'm going to ask.

Traveling to Vegas with the 9/11 Terrorists: True Story!

I'm packing to head to Vegas and every time I pack, I think of my trip to Las Vegas months before before 9/11. I was heading to a work related event and was accompanied by my parents. I go to at least two conventions in Las Vegas every year. This time we were flying on American West, formerly known as America Worst because of their lousy on time schedule.

We were meeting up with my cousin/sister at Phoenix Sky Harbor. Deb was going to be my roomie since my husband had to work. Our flight was late. Oh, surprise! The plane was at the next gate but even though Deb was at the gate, they closed the door and wouldn't let us board.

Her friend Dave was there to see her off. Yup, you could actually be IN the airport if you weren't traveling. He rushed us to an American West office so we could be reticketed on another flight. He was an elite traveler and we were like the 800th person in line, he called the airline, made our arrangements to get us switched to Delta. So like crazy people, he grabs a wheelchair for my father, grabs our carry ons and runs us to a bus to get us to another terminal where our tickets were waiting. And they were!

The plane was a 767. Pretty weird flying from Phoenix to Vegas because there were only like 40 people onboard, but it was late at night. Deb and I were in the first cabin after first class. My parents were in the next cabin.

In strolls a group of 7 men who had no luggage, no carryons and appeared to be speaking Arabic. They got on the plane and started going through the overhead bins. When they found a bin that had plane stuff in it they started "messing" with it. The flight attendant stopped them, told them to sit down. And they did, for about a minute. And then they started wandering into first class and toward the cockpit. The flight attendants from the back came up front and told them to sit down so we could take off. Now remember, this was the time when security was relaxed, the cockpit door would sometimes stay open during the flight and you could watch the takeoff.

Deb and I and the 7 men were the only ones in our cabin. The men acted like they didn't understand. Back they went rifling through the overhead bins in the next cabin. Weird considering they came with nothing except for the clothes on their back. Two flight attendants escorted them back into the cabin and they insisted they wanted to sit where Deb and I were sitting. There were seats everywhere, but they wanted to look out our window.

Deb is not known for her finesse. She tells it like it is. She said "Get the f--- out of my face camel breath and go sit down." The flight attendant laughed and said "Amen". Three of them kept leaning over us and we decided to move up a few seats. They followed us. The flight attendants finally stood in between the doors to the cabins to keep them seated. They also locked the cockpit door. As soon as we were in the air, they blocked the exits and entrances to our cabin with the carts.

Since no one was in the back of the plane, the attendants called the back and sent the attendants up to our cabin. These guys didn't quit. They were in and out of the bathrooms, moved a cart and tried to get into first class . They were totally enthralled with the mechanics of the plane, especially the wing flaps. They spent all 50 minutes of the flight trying to keep this group who PRETENDED not to understand English to sit down.

A flight attendant asked one of them why they were going to Vegas and where they were staying. One guy said he was going to take pictures. The flight attendant asked him where was his camera. He said he didn't have one. WTF? Where are you staying? They didn't know. Do you gamble? No. We were like wondering why these young Arab men were going to Vegas when they were not gamblers, had no luggage, didn't know where they were staying and seemed interested in keeping me and Deb in our seats and messing with the plane.

As we started to descend, they got out and headed to watch the wing flaps again. The attendants called the pilot, the pilot told them to sit down now. They pretended not to understand, but they understood EVERYTHING when the flight attendants were talking to them behind us. They escaped into the back cabins and the flight crew went back to get them. They were in the back galley. By this time, all 40 of us on this cavernous flight were wondering what was up with them.

They made them come back and sit down and they got up again and leaned over me and Deb. There were windows everywhere, why our window? She screamed this time "Get the f--- away from me and sit the hell down." The co pilot had to come back and sit them down so we could land.

Now here's the weirdest part, they didn't want to get off the plane. Of course, they weren't at baggage pickup. Everyone on the plane waiting for our luggage was talking about how weird they were and why were they messing with the plane.

Fast forward a year. Its 9/11 and I just returned the night before from a business trip to Las Vegas. The news starts to unfold. Deb and I get a sick feeling when we see the pictures of the terrorists on TV. We call each other, is that Camel Breath? We recognized those guys...they were on that flight with us! We called each other, called my parents. My parents recognized them also. Mom cries and cries. Then comes the news that the terrorists had been flying between Phoenix and Las Vegas on a 767s to learn the workings of that aircraft. They'd been taking flight lessons in Phoenix. OMG, it really was the terrorists on that flight!!

So we call the FBI. And since I'm totally anal about keeping receipts from business trips, I had all the flight information. And I never was so scared in my life while I gave the FBI agent the information of our flight and our statements. And then we all freaked out. Big time. And Mom cried some more.

A few months later, James Woods the actor, is on Jay Leno's Tonight Show and he's talking about how he was on a flight with the terrorists and how he had to file a report with the FBI. And he talked about how it shook him up to think of what could have happened. Hey, I know the feeling.

So as I get ready to go to Las Vegas again, instead of bitching that I have to take off my shoes at security and I can't bring on a lighter or more than 3 ounces of liquids, I think of THAT flight, and I shut my mouth. I think of how lucky we were and I pray for the ones who weren't as lucky as we were. And I wish that someone on the crew would have reported them to the police. And that might have changed history.