Incidentals and Room Charges

Hi everyone,

I am new to posting but I have been reading message board posts on and off for a few days now.

I will be staying at the Mirage in a little over week. It will be my first trip to Vegas. We were upgraded to a suite. I understand they have an incidental hold which I believe is $200.00 max per stay. I also know many people recommend charging stuff to the room so you can try and get back end comps before check out. My question is....

If I charge stuff to the room like pool drinks for example will they subtract the drink charges from the incidental hold amount first before charging additional or will the drinks be a completely separate transaction at check out? I am fine with them holding money until check out but if there is some way I could use the hold funds to my advantage while they are holding them then that would be a bonus. I hope that makes sense?

I'm sorry in advance if this has already been asked before. I tried searching but was unable to find the answer to my question.

 

They are putting a hold on your credit card(verifying there is sufficient funds available), nothing will actually be charged until checkout for room incidentals. Honestly, if you have insufficient credit to cover the hold, it's highly unlikely you will gamble "enough" for them to give you back end comps, and borrowing on your credit card to finance gambling is a terrible idea as well.. I dont know what pool drinks cost at the mirage(maybe $15 or more), bring your own drinks or drink before you go would be a way to save.

 

Hi Merlin,

Thank you for the information. That all makes sense. The hold is no problem for me financially. I was just trying to get a better idea of how it all works. Our local casinos do things quite a bit differently so I am learning as I go. Thanks again.

I agree I also think gambling on credit is a bad idea. I will be gambling with cash only.

 

And, even it is a real hold on your money, I am missing the request to make use of it while staying there. Just continue to charge stuff to your room and it all balances out at the end.

As to getting any back end comps.... trying to figure out how much you will be gambling.

Also, how did you happen to get upgraded to a suite?

 

There are people with very small credit limits($500 or 1K), if they already have a balance of say $700, they have only $300 "free", a large hold can use up most of the rest, and any subsequent charge attempts will be turned down. It must be a frequent problem because whenever I check in they mention it, I'm like 'I dont care", but apparently it happens alot, those people prob shouldn't be in vegas IMO.

 

Thanks for all of the information. I think I'm understanding it now. Like you stated it all balances out in the end. I will only be gambling a few hundred this trip because I have a new business I am working on and a trip to England later this year but next trip next year will have a lot more in gambling money. I'm an investor on top of everything else so my funds are usually tied up in investments at various times through out the year so that is why I am low rolling it this trip.

I originally booked a room with two Queen beds. Several weeks ago I was sent an upgrade offer for a two bedroom penthouse suite. The offer was really good so I took it. Two of the nights are free because of myvegas minus the resort fees of course. I have paid for everything else shows etc in advance except for the room.

 

Since I am low rolling this trip then I figure I am unlikely to get any kind of back ends comps.

 

With the low rolling, there will not be any back end comps.

Congrats on getting the 2BR suite. I am guessing you got a real good rate?

If you have good credit, I might suggest getting a few additional credit cards. Pick up 25-100k bonus miles that will cover your trip to England - maybe even in Biz/First. And lougne access in many cities, etc etc

 

Thank you Nos! Great ideas! I will be sure to look into that. I like building up miles.

Yeah, I got a really good rate. At least I feel like I did. Only $532.14 total for the suite and we are staying for 4 nights.

 

You did get a really good deal. That is a great room for that price!

 

Thank you garrman! I was very surprised when they offered it to me especially since I have never stayed there before.

 

Correction the total is actually $697.74 for the 4 nights. I forgot to add in the deposit I already put down on the suite. Still a pretty good deal though I think.

 

No, you shouldn't "gamble on credit". But, I'm just now getting my credit back to good numbers after 7+ years of having bad credit. I finally have a card with a decent limit, but for the longest time, I only had $1k limit on one. But, I could afford to go, thankfully. So, not everyone with a low limit shouldn't gable. You just have to know how much to bring, and still have everything paid for at home. One guy I work with doesn't even want a CC. Pays for everything in cash, I don't agree long term, but it's how I use my cards. Pay them off monthly.

 

$697.74 plus about $40/nt for the "resort fee" which isn't mentioned until you sign to check in. That brings it to about $950 for 4 nights. About right...good deal if you're getting a Fri and/or Sat night.
With a 'hold' on your credit card it's not like they charge out the $300 and then credit it back. It just stops use of $300 of your total limit. A $2,000 credit card will only have $1,700 available. At check-out they free up the hold and charge out whatever you owe. It's just a guarantee to them that at least $300 will be there on your credit card when you pay at check-out.

 

I got really lucky the $697.74 already includes the resort fee and taxes. When they quoted me for the upgrade they included the resort fees with it. I just checked my mlife account to confirm that is the case. We are staying on week nights. I'm guessing that may have helped in getting an upgrade?

Thank you Smerrian that information helps. I was trying to figure out if they were holding the money because they expect you to charge to the room or for potential damages. That makes sense though that they would do it to make sure you have the funds so they don't end up getting screwed.

 

Any decent Strip property offering you a real suite at less than $200/nt including all charges is a good deal...even during the week.