Cheapskate Vegas: A Vegas Podcast for Low Rollers

Richard is a major voice in the points and miles world and he’s here to answer my questions on navigating the P&M world as a newbie, why Wells Fargo shouldn’t be ignored, and blazes through my not-so-rapid fire round of questions

For bonus content: patreon.com/travelfanboy

For more TFB: TravelFanboy.com

Join AwardTravel101 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/awardtravel101

In this episode, I give my best of 2018 list, state my 2019 resolutions, and ponder the usefulness of time zones. Here you go:

My best of 2018 in travel:

Best meal: Alinea, Chicago

Bonus audio with me and Han in Patreon if I can ever figure out how to edit this new Cast service.

Anyway, I wrote about Alinea on the blog. Three-star Micheline rated restaurant. About $300 per person not including drinks. A true dining experience.

Best drink: Bad Luck Bar, Detroit

The best thing that can happen to you in a Detroit back alley. A speakeasy with limited seating but competent mixologists. Drinks are pricey, but value is what you get.

Best resort: El Dorado Casitas Royale, Riviera Maya

Stunning resort on a long stretch of beach. The food wasn’t the best we’ve had at a Cancun all-inclusive, but it was still very good. But the property itself was gorgeous. A great upper-middle tier resort in Cancun.

Coolest city: New Orleans

Best new destination: Louisville

Most fun trip: Zorkfest 2018, Las Vegas

Goals for 2019:

1. Figure out how timezones work - The timezone should be the same for the entire country.
2. Become a cool hat guy - Folically challenged, but Podcasters should be the pinnacle of cool. Athletes like Cam Newton post game- that’s what we should look like. More of a Mad Hatter feel, but I’m buying a cool hat this year.
3. Change some cards around - Probably sign up for Amex Gold and cancel Platinum. The previous episode I mentioned a 25k sign on bonus for Gold, Joe from Observation Deck slid into my DMs to remind me that signing up using a friend’s referral link will get you a 50k sign on bonus. As I say all the time, if you’re looking for a new card, check to see if a friend or family member has a link you can use.

Upgrade from Sapphire P to R. Not going to wait to two more years to get the sign on bonus.

1. New schedule -

Monday post, Tuesday (bi-weekly) show, Thursday post Saw your plans on social media. I want to help you get there. Some very cool destinations in your future. Let me know if you have questions or suggestions, I want to continue to put out content that speaks to you.

In this episode, we throw it back to the Vegas Fanboy glory days. This is a rerun of episode #50 of Vegas Fanboy called "Low Roller for a Day".

I'm joined by my podcasting rivals, Mark and Dr. Mike of You Can Bet on That. In this show I discuss my casino-going strategy for low rollers and Mark and Mike talk about what they would do if they had to be low rollers for a day. We also talk about basic craps strategies for those on a budget.

If you must listen to more YCBOT: http://youcanbetonthat.com/

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TravelFanboy

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, I give a little hint on getting a higher tier status with Caesars and I chat with Han about his ME3 experience.

Caesars Status

Use a co-branded card or Amex Platinum, which grants automatic status with one hotel program, match to Wyndham, match to Caesars.

Wyndham is meh, but Caesars status can provide some good value. Comps not based on tier status, but on play.

Platinum - Free parking, complimentary Atlantis stay Diamond - Above plus no resort fees, guaranteed rooms, etc

For more: FrequentMiler

Travelfanboy.com is currently down, but I'll make sure to announce via social media when it's back online. Safe travels, be good to each other!

In this episode, I talk with Craig from Due for a Win as he preps me with budget-friendly options for my upcoming Atlantic City trip.

HT to the staff at Castle Hot Springs which opened Feb 1

Also to Danny for new hashtag #savermetrics

Finagling an upcoming spring break trip which would have otherwise been very expensive #savermetrics

Travel can be a challenge for those in education

Two great pieces of content to check out:

In a recent [Milenomics episode] Sam mentioned that he had what he called a warehouse card which holds on to Amex points as he switches in and out of cards.

Spencer on GodSavethePoints.com for his article on point plays on Airbnb stays. Breaks it down from beginner to advanced strategies.

In the bunker, I added some bonus audio in which I discussed mileage runs and why I passed on extending my temporary A-List status with Southwest. Subscribers should expect more mini-episodes in the coming future. Thanks to those of you who support the show in that way.