Best travel credit card for Vegas trips?

Yea - those high fees generally do not make sense for less than frequent flyers. Getting those for just one year is often okay as you pick up 50,000 miles and some other perks that make it okay. Renewal is often on a per person basis. The $450 Chase Reserve does come with $300 in travel credit, so now only $150. Add in priority pass, some insurance perks and ability to transfer to many airlines and it still works for many.

 

I got one, too, though I only charge about $10 a year on it. I'm a downtowner, so got it just for my [infrequent] strip parking -- Knights games, mostly.

 

yeah, the Chase one is $450 and they give you a $300 travel credit that is super easy to use for anything that resembles travel, unlike the AMEX credit. The real effective cost is a little over $150, which makes it not terribly different than a lot of the ~$100 annual fee cards. Given the higher earnings rate on bonus categories, the ability to spend points at 1.5 cents at all times, and the uniquely generous travel protections, it can be a very good card even for people who don't fly very often.

 

I also use the CSR card. Im lucky in that Frontier flies out of ORD T5 where the Priority pass lounges are so I get lounges there and Vegas. Sadly the Vegas ones are no longer allow access upon arrival (I used to love getting a bunch of drinks at "The Club" before heading to the hotel).

In addition the CSR offer primary CDW (basically covers damage to the rental car). Before I had the card, I used to buy a yearly CDW insurance for.rentals. It cost around $100 in 2016, and last time I checked,.it was over $200 so that alone is a. If benefit for me considering the net CSR annual fee is $150.

The trip delay insurance from the CSR is good too. My flight was cancelled and I should be getting my expenses reimbursed for that flight cancellation from this insurance.

 

I have the basic AMEX with a $99 yearly fee. I save that in baggage fees alone during my yearly trips. I also like boarding in zone 1, which comes with the card. Our tiny local airport ONLY has Delta, but even driving a few hours to bigger spots the Delta flights have been on time and comfortable.

 

Another perk of both the Amex Plat is the Fine Hotels and Resorts program and for CSR the sbe partnership.

For CSR you can stay at the Delano and receive, 4th night free, $30 in F&B and Daily Free Breakfast for 2 at Della's Kitchen.

Both CSR and Amex Plat have Fine Hotel/Luxury Hotel collection perks where you get up to $100 F&B/Spa credit and Free Breakfast at several Las Vegas Hotels including, Aria, Bellagio, Delano, Cosmo, Palazzo, Wynn.

Additionally Amex usually has a offer for both Ceasars and Mlife hotels. Currently it is save $40 off $200 at Caesars hotels and save $50 off $250 at Mlife hotels. (can double dip with the above offer).

While we are comped anywhere in Ceasrs/Mlife, when traveling to business conferences we use the above programs instead of our free comped rooms so that we don't have to worry about screwing up our comps if we are too busy to play at our regular levels, plus work is paying the bill anyway so there is that.

 

The problem with the FHR thing is you can usually find much better prices on your own, plus you often don't get loyalty points/credits if it is a chain

I look at it regularly and it never seems to make sense

 

I would agree. I have tried to make use that many times over the years. The rates they charge just do not make sense. Same thing with some of the airfare "deals" with Amex.

Then again, at least half, maybe 70% of our non-gambling hotels are paid with points, and all gambling hotels are comped.

 

So many factors. I fly out of LAX and rates greatly vary from airline to airline, therefore I do not like cobranded card as they require you to be loyal, I want to book the cheapest flight that's not Spirit/Frontier.

Costco Visa, no AF, 3% cash back on dining and travel. For many who shop at Costco this could be as good as it gets if you don't see the value in the cards with huge annual fees. You get everything cash back so you don't have to worries about award charts or remaining loyal to any hotel/airline. If you're not getting comped rooms, hotels tonight, priceline or hotwire usually have the best rates in Vegas.

AMEX Green, $150 AF, 3x points on dining and travel. If you like Clear at the airport, if you have a Delta or United account, a Clear membership is to $119/year and AMEX Green gives you a $100/year statement credit on Clear, so it's only $19/year out of pocket for clear membership. It also gives you a $100/year loungebuddy credit, which enables you to visit 2-3 lounges (usually free booze and finger foods).

 

I agree it is not always better. We do not use either program with personal travel as I have tons of points on various cards and get comped rooms in Vegas, however for business travel to Vegas it does work for us. For example, for a conference being held at Mandalay Bay, the rates for the Delano from May 31 through June 4 are the same on both CSR program and Amex program as well as the Delano site directly. King Suite room with a strip view - (1396 before taxes/resort fees and 1750.59 after).

• Mlife/Delano site - No extras other than what comes with being a Gold member.
  
• CSR and AMEX fine hotels - $100 F&B, 4pm checkout, possible upgrade, $30 per day for breakfast.

AMEX additional - earns 5% back and often has get $50 back after spending $300 offers. ​

• CSR/Abe program - 4th day free, $30 F&B, $30 per day for breakfast.

It has been my experience that you do earn mlife points using the above programs.

My husband's work sponsored travel agency almost always has higher rates (which doesn't make sense to me). and many of the travel aggregators have cheaper fees that are non refundable or require pre payment. We are not tying up or risk losing the payment for business travel purposes.

 

I've never used the CSR or Amex fine hotels benefits at Vegas given the comp rooms by booking directly. Perhaps if your company lets you use your own credit card for reimbursement then it might make sense.

 

Imho, I'd get caesars rewards cc or Mlife cc depending on your preference. Mlife gives you 25 times points in Vegas on rooms, food and shows, that's bow we first became gold.

 

Best? The Alaska Air card, of course.

 

Another option for strip parking is the MGM Resorts MasterCard. You have automatic Pearl status with free parking. My seatmate parks in the NYNY garage for Knights games. There is no annual fee.

 

Same here. I'm not going to charge enough on an airline card to get free airfare. We pretty much hit Vegas once a year and don't fly anywhere else. Both my husband and I have the TR Visa. We charge daily expenses on it and then pay them off every 2 weeks. And by the time we hit Vegas we have about $600 worth of money from reward points to use.

 

OP: It depends on which city you live near. If you live near Newark, NJ then the United Card is your best airline card because EWR is a UA hub. If you live near Philadelphia, PA or Boston, MA then the American Card is your best airline because PHL and BOS are AA hubs. If you fly a lot then one of the $450 AF cc is a good option. If you fly 2-3 times per year like me, maybe not. There are a lot of factors that will tell which card fits you best.

 

I have an IHG card that I got a long time ago when they had a HI Express in Paris, France that had a 5000 point promo room, but those are a thing of the past and I think the card is now quite inferior to the many other choices given the high point requirement for rooms at IHG. I keep it only because the 49 annual fee gets me one free night at any IHG hotel.

The dark horse card to consider is the Hyatt card. Last I checked, it gives you pearl mlife status without any gambling, which is good for free self parking at any MGM and buffet line bypass. Also Hyatt's point structure is much less inflated than some of the others, especially if you ever want to stay in Hyatt place hotels in suburban areas which are often around 5000 to 8000 points, including an ok breakfast, compared to 25000+ for equivalent properties in other brands. Most LV strip hotels and other urban hotels are 30k+ though.

 

@azlefty I signed up for the IHG Premier card last year. It came with 125k bonus points after 3K spend, and automatic Premier status. $89 annual fee.

They DID seem to have a point devaluation, but between 2 or 3x points on grocery and gas(where we accumulate 1-2k points a month) plus the signup bonus, we have a reasonable 3-5 nights able to use anywhere in the IHG system. I have seen some nicer Holiday Inns and Crowne Plazas go for 10k-15k points. I haven't seen a 5k reward in awhile like I did 7-8 years ago but that goes with the devaluation.. I really like Staybridge Suites due to the breakfast and kitchenettes and generally nice upkeep, and can find reasonable ones for 15-25k points. Benefit with Premier status too is book 3 award nights, get the 4th free, so longer stays it's not as bad.

 

Yea, lots of folks do not charge enough to get airline tickets. BUT - the signup bonus is often in the 50,000 range, so you can get a few tickets that way. Then stop using the card.

 

Yep, I'm not really getting that one. It's not about the flight miles on the airline card, it's about all daily/living expenses going on that card and the miles accruing.

NEVER carry a balance.