"The Travel Game" just launched this June! and WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

LVA Travel "The Travel Game" just launched! 

Do you like what Michael Friedman and I are developing? We have a lot of things planned and are just getting started.

✔️ Travel Deals and Travel Promotions, including some that are missed by a lot of bloggers (like the Mohegan Sun Aspire Promotion). 

✔️ Analysis of travel trends (MAJOR CRUISE LINES INCREASING.....), including the major travel and casino loyalty programs. (Friedman is really #geeky and #smart - also stay tuned for an opinion piece or three from me...)

✔️ Deals Deals Deals 🔥🔥 - Including alerts on airfare with the assistance of our friends at Notiflyr - we want to 🚨ALERT🚨 you of the best fare deals... before you hear about them anywhere else (and with a focus on Vegas)

✔️ Travel talk, focusing on experiences and great destinations. We have a few new contributors that I am sure you will love. 

✔️ Guides (such as BEGINNERS GUIDE TO AIRPORT LOUNGES)

✔️ The most extensive and the #1 source 🥇for dinosaur travel! 🦖🦕 (haha, I always wonder if people read these posts...)  

But, lots and lots more is planned. We also will have an arrangement that will allow booking of some of the greatest Vegas properties and get benefits similar to the AMEX FHR or Chase hotel program without having to have those credit cards. Yep, you know $100+/- resort credit, breakfast for two, room upgrades, late check-out.

Most important, we want to hear from you. So... please share LVA Travel with your friends and follow this forum! "The Best Is Yet To Come" (cue, Sinatra).

So glad to have this new Forum and your blogs!  We are all looking for travel help.

Please forgive this story/warning--faster than a speeding bullet!  Husband and I had the news on, not paying much attention, but then:  "Southwest Airlines is celebrating their birthday with bargain fares!"  I literally leaped to my computer to check our November (SEMA show) flights.  Our departing (to home) flights showed $33 less (each), so I did the "change flight" thing, saved us $66.  Nice, but that isn't the end of this story.  I had separately reserved our traveling friend's flight, so I immediately started changing hers as well.  Had all the info, wasn't 1 minute after I finished ours, it was showing same price, $33 less.  I was in the middle of inputting her name and all that, when up popped a SWA text box saying "Wow, these fares are changing fast!"   And it showed the fare "WAS $33/NOW $3."  WHAT??? It changed from $33 to $3 in the middle of me changing the reservation, like in seconds.  I couldn't believe it!  Then just for fun I checked it again.  You guessed it.  Savings for that flight $0, zero, nada, in seconds!  Only consolation is that last week I caught our outbound flights to have lowered, so saved us $71 each on that.  It was just luck that I had checked that day.  Now I'm checking all the time, like I used to do but got lazy.

I could imagine the SWA web site being flooded at time of that news story.  (Our 6 PM news, CDT.)  Wicked.

Most folks know this:  As an SWA card holder I get an email every Tuesday telling of SW fares that have been reduced.  Doesn't always pertain to our originating city or travel plans, but worth checking FIRST THING in the morning on TUESDAYS if you like to travel on Southwest.  Their non-stop flights are what is of best value to us.

That is awesome, thanks! A great tip for SWA. And you're right, these fares can change instantly. I've also had fares change on me in the middle of a booking.

But you may have inadvertently given an even bigger hint to non-SWA travelers. Unlike most airlines, which charge you an arm and a leg to switch something, Southwest doesn't charge you anything. They are, by a long shot, the easiest airline to do business with. Sadly, I live in Boston where they don't fly a lot, but given how valuable their points are and what a great airline they run, they're one of my favorite programs (along with JetBlue).

Mike

There are a lot of advantages to flying SWA. The fact that if you find a lower priced flight, you will get the lower price with no change fee. Also, if you cancel a flight, the cost of the flight is refunded as a credit good for one year. Add to that 2 checked bags free and the great credit card sign up bonuses and SWA is my favorite airline. 

Agree, so many advantages using SWA.  One thing, if you bought Early Bird for a flight, then cancel the flight you lose the EB money.  If you can rebook (change) the flight the EB carries over to the new flight.

But what about those other fees?  Not SWAs fault, I'm sure.  These on my latest reservation:

 - U.S. Transportation Tax          $37.30

 - U.S.  9/11 Security Fee           $22/40

 - U.S.  Flight Segment Tax         $16. 80

 - U.S.  Passenger Facility Chg     $18.00

Excellent addition to LVA!. I'd like to see  posts / articles / guides regarding  basic Vegas trip planning approaches. The decision course and respective order of trip elements, though those of course will vary depending on the travel group. Looking forward to this new aspect of LVA...thanks.

Sadly, not their fault. They go to pay for, among other things, airports and the gentle "massage" that you receive as you go through security.

Mike

Thanks! We really appreciate the feedback.

Are there any particulars that you are looking for ? I don't have to tell you that traveling to Las Vegas is unlike any other city in the country, with the possible exception of Orlando. 

My wife and I go out there once per year, so our planning is pretty routine, but we always book the hotel and flight simultaneously. Hotel reservations are cancellable, so we make sure we have a place locked up and then look for the best fares.

We live in Boston, so we almost always end up flying a major carrier instead of a Southwest. Still, it doesn't hurt to wait until the Southwest/JetBlue fares are posted, which is usually about six months before travel. If demand is light and the discounters are coming in well below the majors, we will sometimes see price reductions.

We do the opposite. Since we can’t cancel the flights, we book our flight & then work on the hotel. 

Understood. We're pretty particular about our hotel, so we make sure that it's available before we book flights.

Mike