Las Vegas Day 1: Car Rental Tips - Thrifty vs Payless

I made a booking online using google search and ended up using choosing Thrifty (with a wild card option) as Thrifty was the cheapest familiar name. Payless was actually the cheapest but since neither my husband nor I had have heard of Payless, we decided to pay a little more (at least we thought a little) and made a reservation with Thrifty instead.

When we arrived at the Car Rental Center in Las Vegas, there was a long queue at Thrifty and no queue at Payless and most of the other car rentals. We thought that it was because of the cheaper rates but I realized later that it was because the staff at Thrifty were busy "cross-selling" and "upselling" everything and anything they could at the counter. We thought that our transaction would go pretty quickly since we already made a reservation online but we were wrong. Our transaction took at least 15 minutes. Usually, car rental transaction take less than 10 minutes for us at the counter.

Below is a copy of our Thrifty reservation online:

VEHICLE PICKUP INFO

Date/Time : Saturday, June 22, 2013 @ 1:00 PM Location: LAS VEGAS - MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL Map Phone: (877) 283-0898

VEHICLE RETURN INFO

Date/Time: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 @ 9:00 PM Location: LAS VEGAS - MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL Map

PAYMENT INFO

Currency: U.S. DOLLAR Rate Code: STRW5 Your Rate: 1 Week at $96.90 per week. Unlimited mileage. Base Rate: $96.90

CHARGES

Estimated Mandatory Charges Rental Time Charge: $96.90 Airport Access Fee: $10.44 Facility Charge: $18.75 Rental Tax: $16.03 State Tax: $10.82 Vehicle License Fee: $7.50 Estimated Grand Total: $160.44

Thank you for renting from Thrifty

So what happened at the counter? First the lady told us that our "wild card" choice is a compact car. What a disappointment! The compact car rental for a week is actually a little cheaper @ US$95/week at the time of booking. So much for the wild card, but that was no big deal since it was only slightly cheaper. Then the Thrifty lady took advantage of the look of disappointment and offered us the Mustang convertible for an additional $15/day. She shared with us that it would only be an additional $75 for the 5 days rental and that the Mustang daily rental was $75/day. Needless to say, we were quite tempted but concerned on the overall rental price.

After that she started explaining to us the various car insurance and other options they had. I forgot the names of the car insurance and their respective prices but there were 3 choices, I will just give it my own names and a rough price guidance: 

1. Total Peace of Mind - US$30+ per day (covers everything) 

2. Partial Peace of Mind - US$20+ per day (excludes 24-hour Roadside Assistance which is $10+ per day)

3. Some Peace of Mind - $10+ per day day (includes 24-hour Roadside Assistance but exclude insurance coverage if you are hit by an uninsured driver, covers cost of car replacement)

She went on the explain how we would have to incur the cost for tow services if we have a flat tire during the car rental period. Since we were going to drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, we were quite concerned about the 24-hour  Roadside assistance. After some consideration, we decided on the some peace of mind package. 

Then she went on to mention about the additional driver option which was US$11.99 per day and tried to sell their wireless hotspot which was US$20/day and pre-paid fuel options and of course she tried to sell her GPS rental too. I could not remember the price since we brought our own Garmin GPS. If you do intend to rent a car, buy your own GPS and key in all the destination at home. It will save you a lot of money and effort. 

Guess what the entire rental for 5 days (excluding additional driver, GPS, hotspot and mustang convertible) came up to? $600+!! 

After we saw the total price, we figured that it would be cheaper for us to book a day tour to go to the Grand Canyon and take cab for our outlet shopping. We were a little embarrassed but decided to decline to proceed with the reservation. At least the Thrifty lady was kind enough to let us know that our reservation would automatically be cancelled if we chose not to pick up the car within 24 hours. That was more than $120+ per day for car rental! Almost the same price as a one night stay at the Venetian! Now we understand why everyone was taking such a long time at the counter. I wonder how many customers did what we did - decline to proceed. I have to admit that Thrifty has an excellent sales and marketing strategy!

We were about to give up the idea of car rental and take a cab to our hotel when I decided to give it one last shot by checking with Payless car rental since there was nobody in the queue. I did not have high hopes that we would get anything. 

The Payless gentleman at the counter was most helpful. I started off by sharing with him that the total rental cost at Thrifty was a lot higher than the initial quote after adding the insurance cost and showed him my initial Thrifty rental rates. He then did his calculation and came up with a total of $321.05 for a 5-day rental inclusive of insurance. We added the roadside assistance($3.99/day) for a total of $341. One more thing, Payless doesn't charge any additional fees for additional drivers. Overall, he only charged me $10/day for a silver 2013 Toyota Corolla with moon roof so that I could still get the rental for $300+. Since my rental worked out to be slightly less than $70/day, we decided to proceed with the rental for more flexibility. 

Here are some tips from my recent car rental experience:

• It is ok to bargain, especially a big car rental center like the one at Las Vegas where you have all the car rentals within walking distance. 
• Reserve the lowest car rental online so that you have something to work with in terms of bargaining.
• It is ok to reject a car reservation if the total price end up way higher than expected, there is no need to feel embarrassed.
• Long queue at the car rental does not necessarily mean that it has the best rate, in fact, it means it is unlikely that they would give you a free upgrade since they are unlikely to have spare cars sitting around.
• No queue after 2 pm at a car rental gives you a good chance to better car rental rates or free upgrades as the car rental is probably concerned that the car may not be rented out for the day.
• Don't bother with pre-paid fuel unless you are buying it out of convenience. It may be cheaper based on per litre price but the total litres will always end up more than if you refuel yourself because it is extremely unlikely that you would be returning the car with empty fuel and it is anyone's guess how many litres the car rental will bill you eventually. 
• Most car rentals charge for additional drivers but Payless does not. I am not sure if there are other car rentals who do not, so do drop me a note if you know of any others. 
• Ask if the rental includes roadside assistance. I had a flat tire with a rental in New York 10 years ago with Dollar car rental. It was a good thing I had roadside assistance with rental. I do not remember buying insurance since I was only driving it in the city. Like insurance, roadside assistance are for the "what-ifs" situation. We did not have any problems with our car rentals most of the time BUT one incident will make you appreciate having one. It took Dollar less than 20 mins to send someone down to change the tire and I was on the road again.
• Bring your own GPS (one with the country's map), it will save you a lot of time, fuel and money.       

Las Vegas - Day 1: Las Vegas McCarran International Airport

After a 2.5-hour flight, we arrived at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. It really tickled me to see slot machines at the airport. There was no need to rush to get off the flight as it took a while before the bags arrived at the baggage belt. You can go to the washroom and take a slow walk to pick up your baggage.

Welcome to Las Vegas

After that we got our checked in luggage, we made our way to the shuttle to take us to the car rental.  We followed the sign to get out of the airport first and walked outside in the direction of the car rental shuttle. Bad choice! It was super hot outside! If I were to do it again, I would walk inside the airport towards the shuttle until the last possible exit. The complimentary car rental shuttle is right at the end of the terminal for T3.

The shuttle ride was 7 mins and I was quite surprised at how huge the car rental center was. It had literally all the US car rental companies. I made an interesting discovery about how car rental companies work while I was there. Please read the next blog on my discovery on car rentals.

Las Vegas - Day 1: WestJet Flight from Vancouver to Las Vegas

It was my first WestJet flight so I will spend some time to review on the flight for those who have not taken WestJet before.

It was a small plane, 6 seats, 3 on each side. Black leather seats with surprisingly sufficient legroom and overhead cabin. In fact, we thought it was more spacious than the Air Canada flight that we took from Vancouver to Toronto last November.

There was no display TV, so it was a good thing I brought my  ipad. We were watching the Korean dramas that I already downloaded from Funshion.

The take off was smooth and the flight crew was friendly. However, the landing was quite an adventure. I am not sure it was because of strong winds in Las Vegas, we experienced quite a roller coaster like drops. It definitely made us wonder if we would take WestJet again.

On the flight back from Las Vegas, we were really lucky to get one of the PLUS seats in the first 3 rows. It had extra long legroom and both the take off and landing were smooth. Thus, on the whole, I would definitely fly by WestJet again.

Las Vegas - Day 1: Checking in and clearing US immigration at Vancouver Airport

I am usually a night person but for some reason, both my husband and I were quite tired by 10 pm on Friday evening (a day before the trip). It was the first time that we both decided to sleep and pack the next morning. (Our flight was at 10 am the next day).

It was a good thing that we both woke up @ 6 am before the alarm even rang. We finished packing in 30 mins and even had time to have a leisurely breakfast and surfed the internet before leaving for the airport @ 7:30 am. If only we could this up for the next few days, we would be up bright and early for our drive to Grand Canyon.

Donald Duck @ YVR

We tried to do online check-in from the WestJet website but were unable to complete the transaction. I suspect that it was due to the fact that I was carrying a Singapore passport instead of a Canadian passport and require an ESTA authorization. The WestJet online check-in system was not able to verify if I had a valid ESTA.

Mickey Mouse @ YVR

Checking in at the Vancouver was easy except that we had a new WestJet staff checking us in and he could not figure out how to check on the ESTA status for me and instead of giving us boarding passes with 2 different names (my husband's and mine), he gave us boarding passes both with my husband's name. Always check the names and flight details on the boarding passes. Of course, we did not check and we were happily dropping off our baggage at the baggage drop off area when the airport staff realized the mistake (fortunately the check-in baggage was tagged to my name and I did not have a boarding pass) and sent us back to the check-in counter to get that corrected.

I was glad that we cleared the US immigration at the Vancouver airport. There was hardly any queue and the immigration officer was extremely friendly. It made us wonder if he was Canadian. He even checked and told us that as a Canadian Permanent Resident, I could apply for NEXUS too. I just assumed that NEXUS was only for Canadian and American Citizens. It would be so much faster to clear the US-Canadian Border to go shopping at Seattle Premium Outlet in the future.

Pluto @ YVR

While waiting at the Vancouver airport before we board the flight, we checked out an interesting collection of Disney Characters - Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goody and Pluto.

Goofy @ YVR

We were contemplating if we should buy some sandwiches for the flight. After our last surprise on Air Canada last November from Vancouver to Toronto (food was available for purchase on the flight but by the time the flight attendant got to us, there was nothing left), we decided to buy the C$7.99+ Turkey Sandwiches at the airport before we board the flight. It was a good decision as those Turkey sandwiches were surprisingly good.  The counter was just in front of the gate for our flight to Las Vegas, so do grab the Turkey sandwich before you board.

Las Vegas - Trip Preparation - Which hotel to choose? Bellagio vs Venetian

After deciding on how to get there, the next big decision is where to stay. It all depends on your travel style and what you think it's an ideal holiday for you. I don't mind staying at a clean motel if I am on a road trip and just staying for the night but for Las Vegas, it has to be 5-star hotel and preferably, a suite.

Bellagio

I shortlisted Bellagio and the Venetian. Both were having promotions but we decided on the Venetian because the 5-day suite @ Venetian was US$800 cheaper than that @ Bellagio for the period we were there. Venetian was having a promotion of US$149/night from Sundays to Wednesdays.   Incidentally, we also realized that accommodations in Las Vegas were cheapest from Sundays to Wednesdays and most expensive on Fridays followed by Saturdays and Thursdays.

The Venetian

I did not get to see the Bellagio suite but both my husband and I really liked the Venetian Suite. We got a Deluxe King Suite with no view of the strip. To us, it was a steal @ US$149/night. The room was big and very well maintained. Everything still looks pretty new. We were also happy that we choose the Venetian because of the Grand Canal Shoppes. If luxury shopping is your past time, then Bellagio would be the place for you. 

Las Vegas - Trip Preparation - Fly WestJet from Vancouver to Las Vegas - Don't bother driving unless you love driving and road trips!

It was a last minute trip decision. My husband has not taken a break since he started on his new job a year ago and he has always wanted to go to Las Vegas. We were initially thinking of waiting till later part of the summer but when I checked the temperature in Las Vegas in July and August, I was shocked to see that temperatures are in the 40s! (or 100s in Degree F!)

We talked about going to Las Vegas on 19 Jun 2013, booked the air tickets, car rental and accommodation and left for Las Vegas on 22 Jun 2013.

Our initial plan is to DRIVE to Las Vegas since the cheapest direct flight we could find was on Westjet and each ticket would set us back by C$440 + tax! That would be C$900 + just to get there by plane. Why not drive there from Vancouver? Great idea? NO!!!! We checked on google maps and realized that it would take us at least 19.5 hours (NON stop) to drive to Las Vegas from Vancouver. And that is just one way. So, if we drive non-stop there and non stop back, we would have wasted 2 days on driving, not to mention we would be exhausted by the end of the drive.

Next alternative, make 1 stop on the way there and 1 stop on the way back? Still along drive. 10 hours per day, non stop. 2 stops? We started scratching our head on where we could make 2 interesting and meaningful stops along the way but changed our mind since we would have to waste 4 days to get there and back. 4 more nights of accommodation would prob set us back by C$400, not to mention the gas, food and car rental expenses (we didn't want to put all those extra mileage on our own car) and 4 extra days from work.

Our conclusion is that unless you are driving your own car, you are not working and you really love road trips , it is really not worth the extra time and effort to drive to all the way from Vancouver to Las Vegas!

The next alternative is to how about flying from Blaine to Las Vegas instead of Vancouver to Las Vegas since flights within the US are more competitively priced. We checked and the difference in price is about C$100 per pax. Not a bad option if there are 4 of us. Since it is just 2 of us, the savings is only C$200. It is prob not worth crossing the border (since we did not apply for NEXUS) just to save C$200 and leaving our car at the Blaine airport parking for 5 days (prob set us back by another C$100 @ C$20/day).

Among the airlines, Westjet was the cheapest and the timing is the best. The flight leaves @ 10 am from Vancouver and arrives at 12:30 pm in Las Vegas. Our return flight leaves Las Vegas @ 10 pm and arrives in Vancouver @ 12:30 am.

One additional note though, if you are not carrying a Canadian Passport and are from one of the visa-waiver countries like Singapore, you will need have a valid ESTA to fly into the US. It can be done online and for me the approval was immediate and cost $14. $10 will be refunded if the application is rejected. The ESTA is valid for 2 years from the approval date. The US immigration will have it on its system but it is advisable to bring a copy of the receipt in case the airlines. I highly recommend that you apply for ETSA if it is required before you proceed with the booking the rest of the tour. You do not need to put in flight details for the application.

If you are planning a trip from Vancouver to Las Vegas, I highly recommend WestJet. The flight was pleasant, timing was great and you arrive fresh in Las Vegas to start your fun right away!

Welcome to Tiffany's Travel Adventures!

Hello! This is my first travel blog. I just started blogging 2 months ago on beauty and health related topics (http://1to1beauty.blogspot.ca/) and I must say that sharing with the internet community about my personal experiences has been pretty fun.

A little about me. I am a Singaporean who has recently moved to Vancouver. I love travelling and have travelled with tours and on my own since I was 8. I started planning my own trip since I was 19 because I have more freedom and time to do the things I like to do and I hate those early morning wake up calls when travelling with tour groups. I also dislike to be herded from one point to another.  If you have any questions about travelling to Singapore or Vancouver, please feel free to drop me a note.

I just came back from a 5-day trip to Las Vegas. It was my third trip to Las Vegas and by far, my most fun trip there. I would like to share with you what I did that make it extra special and how to make it even better if I were to turn back the clock! The travel blog will also cover booking for the trip, accommodation, flight, car rental, the drive, food, show, shopping and other activities such as gambling or tours). I will break up the trip into several blogs so that you can go to the blogs that are useful or interesting to you!