Let’s break the myth that Las Vegas is an expensive destination. I give real-world, actionable hotel examples and options for my upcoming July-August 2025 Las Vegas vacation.
Vegas Isn’t Just for High Rollers
It pains me to read people spreading the myth that Las Vegas is expensive. In reality, Vegas is one of the best value destinations in the world allowing gamblers, miles and points enthusiasts, and other savvy consumers an opportunity for vacation at very low cost rewarding some effort and preparation. I’ve stayed for very little cost, eaten like a king, and even made money.
Most places in the world can be expensive to visit, but they don’t have to be. I could spend $1000+ for a stay near Disney World, for example, but that would be very foolish when I could instead use a modest amount of Hilton points from one American Express Hilton credit card signup bonus or credit card spending in beneficial categories to pay next to nothing.
Cheap (or free) Hotel Stays in Las Vegas
I could spend $1000+ on hotel stays in Las Vegas, but that would be silly when Las Vegas offers so many ways to save money without being reduced to staying at a place that’s falling apart and puffed up as ‘budget-friendly.’ In future articles, I plan to discuss other inexpensive options in Las Vegas, particularly food, drinks, good gambling opportunities, and cheap flights to and from Vegas.
For my upcoming Las Vegas stay, I have so many affordable good hotel options, it’s difficult to make a decision. Classic first world problems!
Wyndham Desert Blue
Currently, I have three nights booked for a total of 27,000 Wyndham points. The Wyndham Earner Business Card credit card allows me to earn many points largely thanks to its powerful 8x points in the fuel or gas category. In early July of 2025, new cardholders will earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4000 in 90 days.
If business cards aren’t feasible at the moment, or Barclays won’t approve you, personal Wyndham cards can be good options. You also have the option to buy Wyndham points at, usually, less than a cent per point, so (America Loves Math) 27,000 points would cost less than $270 for a grand total of only $90 a night with no resort fee.
My room was spacious with a kitchen, couch, nice bathroom, and a king bed separated from the living room area. I also liked the location, right next to Rio, which can allow for hotel-hopping moving from Rio to Wyndham Desert Blue and vice-versa.
Join me for a Wyndham Desert Blue room tour:
Rio Las Vegas and World of Hyatt
Rio joining the World of Hyatt program and offering newly renovated rooms in the Ipanema Tower was a fantastic development for many miles and points enthusiasts. Although cash rates fluctuate and aren’t always low, cash rates are often around $30-50 dollars per night.
For a July 31st though August 3rd stay at the time of my article writing, including a Friday and Saturday (!), rates range from $44-52 a night with a AAA member discount. Rio charges a $50/night resort fee, but this can be waived with Hyatt Globalist status or application of a Guest of Honor Reward from a Globalist friend or acquaintance. Even if you must pay a $50 resort fee for some reason, less than $100 per night isn’t horrible, especially with free parking and pool access included.
Beyond waiving the resort fee, Hyatt Globalist status grants allegedly guaranteed 4PM checkout and absolutely grants daily free breakfast from a vast menu (cold drink, hot drink, and entree) for two adults and two children.
Stays at Rio, points or cash rates, also add qualifying nights towards the widely regarded Hyatt Globalist status. Spending on Hyatt credit cards, in addition to stays, makes attaining Globalist status even easier. When Vegas cash rates are very high and you lack other options, it may be worthwhile to stay with 9000 Hyatt points generated from credit card spending or points transfers from various credit cards.
Watch a room tour of my stay at Rio Las Vegas:
MyVegas comp nights
Long story short, free-to-play mobile and browser games you can put on auto-spin earn rewards
you can use for weekday MGM hotel stays in Las Vegas. Some games reward you just for being logged in and sitting in a lobby. When home, I run multiple phones as part of morning and evening cycles while I multitask. I also run the MyKonami and MyVegas Classic game on internet browsers on my desktop.
In July of 2025, MyVegas is offering comp nights at not only Luxor and Excalibur, but also Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Park MGM, and New York New York. Some stays require VIP3 status, but that’s easily attained with daily game logins. Nights are sometimes impacted by blackout dates or are unavailable, so it’s helpful to have other options with MGM Rewards and pair MGM Rewards with MyVegas comp nights when rooms are available.
Learn more from my YouTube video including gameplay:
MGM Rewards Strategy
For years, I’ve said that earning MGM Gold status is easy, not requiring status matching
opportunities that ultimately fade away. Months ago, status earning got even easier with the
introduction of the MGM Rewards Iconic World Elite Mastercard credit card. I now have both the
no annual fee MGM Mastercard and the new Iconic credit card for even more status-earning
opportunities.
MGM credit cardholders automatically earn Pearl status for waived parking costs. MGM Gold
status offers a yearly comped oceanview cruise, waived resort fees, a $100 dining credit, and
many other benefits. MGM Credit card spending, including the wonderful ability to load funds to
BetMGM with no cash advance fee, can grant MGM Gold status with zero in-person gambling.
Learn more about MGM credit cards in my past articles.
In addition to earning status through credit card spend, spend generates freeplay (Slot Dollars)
or comps (MGM Rewards Points). Simply visit an MGM Rewards desk to convert Slot Dollars to
MGM Rewards Points to use for later stays. Use MGM Rewards Points to pay for MGM hotel
stays combined with MGM Gold status for no resort fees, free parking, and more benefits. For
just one mid-range MGM hotel example, New York New York offers the following rates at the
time of this article writing: 7/31 for $41.65, 8/1 for $92.65, 8/2 for $118.15, and 8/3 for $50.15.
Learn more:
MGM Rewards Improvements: Cruises and Rollover Tier Credits
https://travelzork.com/mgm-rewards-improvements-cruises-and-rollover-tier-credits/
MGM Launches ‘MGM Rewards Iconic’ Credit Card – TravelZork
https://travelzork.com/mgm-rewards-launches-mgm-rewards-iconic-credit-card/
But Wait, There’s More!
These four sections are just the tip of the iceberg for value in Las Vegas, and I didn’t even
mention Caesars Rewards, Hilton Honors, downtown Las Vegas deals, the wonderful Las
Vegas Advisor coupon book & newsletter, other Hyatt options, status matching for comp nights,
smart low-house edge gambling to generate comp nights, and other areas. After all, most of my
articles here are around 500 words, and this is easily over 1000 words. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Justin, yeah man, I checked…it’s almost two thousand words…. 1,949 words!)
Why People Think Vegas is Expensive
The strongest argument against my positions is that some effort is needed to accumulate points,
statuses, and get approved for credit cards. I would counter by arguing that the effort has a
huge payoff and doesn’t have to be complex, especially if you can shift existing spending to
different cards rather than using a generic 2% cashback card or worse, a debit card, or even
cash (the horror, what a wasted opportunity!). Adding what I’ve referred to as creative spending
(buying prepaid and gift cards, reselling, etc) makes spending goals even easier, but this isn’t
absolutely required.
Effort vs Expectation
I would also question the expectations of people who simply expect things to be cheap without
effort or preparation. Why do you expect to stay at nice hotels for very little cost out of pocket simply by walking in the door?
Are your lamentations like ‘Vegas is expensive’ equally applied to other destinations that are
thought of as being expensive? If not, why not?
Are you anchored to expecting low prices from years or decades ago?
I would also ask: why do you complain, not take action to resolve a perceived problem, and then
still complain, especially when others solved the perceived problem? If you’re frustrated by
some Vegas prices, ask yourself: have you tried strategies that make it more affordable?
Stay tuned for future articles in this ‘Las Vegas Doesn’t Have to be Expensive’ series. I plan to
discuss other inexpensive options in Las Vegas, particularly food, drinks, good gambling
opportunities, and cheap flights to and from Vegas.
Have you scored a cheap Vegas trip without sacrificing quality? Drop your wins in the
comments or tag @HurdyGurdyTravl on X.
As always, use credit responsibly and gamble intelligently.
