Question of the Day - 14 December 2019

Just quit going an you can avoid all the fees. That's what I did

I think a few of the hotels have their own airport shuttle that will pick you up at the airport & take you back at the end of your stay. I've done that when staying at the Suncoast and the Silverton, there may be others. And if you stay someplace mid-strip or south-strip you can get an airport hotel shuttle for about $8 a person. If you travel light (just have one bag to make things easier) you can catch a city bus at the airport (bottom level (aka Zero Level) and ride to a property on the Strip, can change buses to catch one going east-west if you stay someplace like Tuscany, Orleans, Palms, Rio, Gold Coast, etc, it isn't very quick but really cheap. The city bus system in Las Vegas is above average compared to other cities, you can download their route map from their website or get a paper copy at the south end or north end bus terminals. They offer multi-day passes so you can ride all you want in the allotted time period of the pass. And Uber rides are decently priced.

I forgot to say, if you reserve the rental car a few weeks before your trip and then check the price often during the days leading up to your trip you'll see the price drop lower & lower, often by as much as one-half or even more. The internet rental car places (kayak.com, carrentals.com, etc) and most of the major rental companies like Budget, Thrifty, Alamo (my favorite) don't charge you until you pick up the car, making the reservation is free. And they let you cancel a reservation and rebook when the price goes lower. All it takes is a little of your time checking the rental car price every day or so. Vegas has thousands of rental cars to accommodate the large conventions and big events, so on slower times there are excess cars available and the price can really drop the week before your rental date. Just don't wait to rent the car at the last minute before your trip.

I always rent in advance from one of the major rental companies like Avis or Budget.  I set the pick up to be at a casino but have the drop of at McCarran. Have done this several times and there has been no extra charges to drop off at the airport.

I avoid the airport fees and still have the convenience of dropping my car off at the airport.

All those fees and the difficulty of avoiding them are yet another reason to just stay home. You can set fire to your money in the comfort of your living room, watching it burn merrily in the fireplace. You can go to the local Liquor Barn and buy more than enough booze to get gloriously drunk, at a fraction of what you would have spent in Vegas. And you can charge yourself $60 a day in resort and parking fees and set the money aside for your retirement, or maybe a round or two of golf. Much better than getting on the Sucker Express to fabulous Las Vegas!

That's a great deal of very useful information. Thanks for the effort! (Not that I'll be renting a car in Vegas any time soon as I am *almost* as sour on today's Vegas as Kevin.)

overall the daily or weekly rate you get will be much higher than at the "quasi" airport location.

@rokgpsman it's all about fooling yourself. you may think you're outsmarting the airport location by not having to pay the fees. In the end you'll pay just as much, if not usually more by picking up at a hotel or an off-site airport location. 

people are so gullible these days. it's all about how you feel. take another example: mobile app delivery services like skip the dishes and more, geesh.