Help needed for next year's trip.. UK people mainly!

No based in North East, middlesbrough

 

OK...

Have a work colleaque with the same name and wondered if it was him.

Good luck with your trip planning...

 

Thanks mate !!!

 

It probably will. Make sure you log on to the website and check. Also sign up for offers directly on the mb site.

 

Try delta they are partners of virgin I booked for my trip next week a couple of months ago saved over£120 each for direct flights flying with virgin

 

Just a couple of things to add. Ensure you get a hotel that you can cancel with no charges as if for some reason the flight has a problem and is cancelled you won't be covered under the ATOL for anything other than the flight That only covers for airlines and not something that is not part of a package holiday like with an ABTA company where you are fully covered for the whole packaged holiday.

Also resort fees are included in Virgin and BAs prices for packages and also hotel rooms booked separately through them but not if you book direct with hotels or through a third party so take that into account when working out the total price.

BA flies out of Gatwick and Heathrow so you can fly out mid morning from Gatwick and back late night from Heathrow, giving you half a day extra if that works for you.

if you ring Virgin direct and sign up for the frequent flyers they give 7% discount on package holidays, or they did last time I checked.

virgin you can prebook your seat for free, BA only on check in unless you pay.

We usually book for August about November or December. Prices start high when they come online 12 months before then go down to about £600-£700 then go very high as it gets closer so don't leave it too long and if you see a sale then book it quick cos doubt you will see it for any less after that.

If you book separate components try and get insurance that will cover everything you book if it's all done separately.

Funway Holidays use Virgin and BA flights and are sometimes cheaper for a package. They, and other companies, also use other flights with layovers so watch out for packages that don't say the flights are direct but look very cheap. Not a good plan.

 

Thats what i love about this forum, full of helpful people..thank you so much for that answer! I was worried that by the time i get to book (November) that the flights might already be sold out for august but this has made me feel lots better.

 

Don't forget to look at Thomas Cook flights as an option. I have booked flights only with them for our trip next April after using them this May. We found them to be really good and a couple of hundred pounds cheaper than Virgin. They are obviously doing something right as they have increased their flights out of Manchester from April next year to include Fridays.

 

Thanks, i was going to stay clear of thomas cook as i went with them this year and had the feeling they were going to go under with all the shop closing etc, but if they are adding more flights then i guess they might be ok now.

 

I flew with them in May as well and I would certainly use them again

 

Well i can book this weekend !! woohooo..thing is the flights are £1400 with thomas cook...do i book now or wait see if they drop??...thing is i wil panic they will sell out for the day i want !!

 

If you can book your flight's midweek because they are cheaper and there is more availability Virgin fly everyday from Gatwick but only fly Thursday or Sunday from Manchester.
We tend to go from Gatwick because if there are any problems you have more chance of getting on the next flight, we have been going to Vegas since 1998 and have never had any flight delays except for the volcano which we were able to change the date's with Virgin.
Also we book our room with the Paris Hotel direct and they only take 1 night deposit and if you want to cancel, as long as you give them 48hrs notice you will get the deposit back, and I'm sure if there is a problem with the flight and you contact them asap they will not charge you.

 

Forgot to say if you shop at Tesco's you can elect to have Virgin Airmiles and you can book direct with Virgin Miles plus money which is cheaper just join there flying club, we also have there credit card which gives us miles and we save enough each year for free flight's we only have to pay the airport tax.
Hope this is helpful.

 

Host

Chris, you mentioned you have been before, where did you stay? Can I take it your "play" is light shall we say, only being sapphire? NOI
My reason for asking is I have been going to Vegas once a year since 2009 for at least a week each time and I have maintained gold status each year based on my play. This year I took some advice from members here about contacting a host ( a slot host in my case as 90% of my play is slots ) with regards to getting a room comp.
After picking a host name at random from the hotel I wanted to stay at via their website, Aria, I sent out an e-mail enquiry and after some back and forth my new host comped me my entire stay ( 9 nights in a deluxe King ) plus F&B credit. So all I had to do was book my flight. I have been flying with Virgin each year and cant really fault them. Each time you fly you rack up "miles" as mentioned previously that can be put towards your next flight. This year they had a promo on and ( after purchasing extra miles that was a cheaper option ) I think my flight was around £700 return from Gatwick. So my hotel and accom costs were £700
Depending on what your bankroll has been previously it "may" be worth an e-mail to see if you qualify for any comped room stays, they can only say no. Even if they offer you 1 or 2 nights it's 1 or 2 you don't have to pay for so more to "play" with no?:evillaugh
Just a thought
I usually travel early August too and it's dam hot 40 deg C every day ( I love the dry desert heat but don't spend time in it say at the pool ) not too busy either except weekends when it gets mad with Americans whooping and hollering

 

Just to add to this, I used to book a package deal through Lastminute.com and they were usually quite competitive price wise if that's the way you wanted to go.
but you can loose out on this with comps at the back end of your stay dependant upon your "play"

 

Thanks again for help.

Yes I'm afraid my play is light I only tend to play on the lower price slots so I really doubt I will get anything for free, but again I appreciate the advice.

I have just joined the virgin miles club and I am awaiting a response to a email I sent to see if I qualify for a 7 %. Discount.

I will Look at Gatwick but Manchester is much easier however I will check the prices now.

Chris

 

Personally I would avoid the Thomas Cook flight. I've not heard any good stories about it yet plus apparently their baggage allowance is a lot less than Virgin/BA.

If you are looking at saving costs and happy to fly indirect then I would suggest flying American Airlines from London to Los Angeles then take a cheap, indirect flight to Vegas as direct Vegas flights are generally £150 more pp and a cheap return can cost $100 with Southwest. The only downside to this is that if you are delayed getting to LA then you don't get covered for missing the plane. However, if you can drive, just hire a car and drive to Vegas!

If you do decide to book BA then check the American Airlines website for their prices. BA codeshare with AA but if you book with AA you don't have to pay BA's fuel surcharge - which is about £120 in Economy. It will still be the BA plane (direct from London) but your ticket will be processed by AA so it might end up being cheaper.

Hotel wise google vegas hotels online - that is a site that lists all the offers when booking through the hotel's website only. Paulie mentioned lowcostusa.com which is also on my list of sites to check.

 

Oh flying with Thomas Cook is fine, flew with them both times I have been to Vegas, it was just if they will still be around that concerned me.

 

Thomas Cook have been around for over 100 years...I doubt if they are going anywhere soon.

I believe that the MAN flights are seasonal though.

 

Yes they fly in august on the day I want.