I'm currently staying in this massive
1100 square foot
room at Conrad Las Vegas that
I got upgraded to for free.
By the end of this video,
I'm gonna tell you how I did that, as well as many
other ways that you can get a suite
on your next trip to Las Vegas.
For tonight,
a basic room here costs about $120.
However, the one bedroom suite goes for over $400.
And last time I was here, at check-in,
I asked what kind of suite upgrades were available,
and they offered to upgrade me
to a one bedroom suite for an additional $90 a night.
So if I were to do that for this stay, I would've paid $120
for the basic room, plus a $90 upgrade fee,
so I would've paid $210 to get a room
that goes for over $400.
And this really is something you can do
at any hotel on the Strip.
If they have space available for a suite upgrade,
they're going to try to sell that to you
at a highly discounted rate. And using this tactic,
you can usually get it for about 50% of the cost
that you would have paid
if you were to buy it upfront.
Something else
you can do for a chance to get a free suite upgrade,
is to bribe the front desk agent.
People call this the $20 trick.
And basically, what it is, the most common way is,
when they ask for your ID and credit card,
you hand it to them with a $20 bill folded in between,
but I don't think this is the best way to go about it.
I think the best way to go about it is to have
a $20 bill in your hand,
and then flash that when you ask them if there's any
complimentary upgrades available,
and be specific about what you want, be like,
I was hoping I could get a one bedroom suite,
or I was hoping I could get the junior suite, just look at
the options beforehand, look at the availability,
and know exactly what to ask for.
Honestly, this $20 bribe doesn't work very much anymore.
I had success with it once at Treasure Island.
I bribed the front desk agent with a $20 bill,
and she gave me a free upgrade to an entry level suite,
as well as two dinner buffet passes,
and a free bottle of champagne.
So, she really made it worth my while,
but that's the only time I've ever gotten
a sweet upgrade from this.
However, I've never tried a $50 bribe or $100 bribe.
And if you do somethin' like that,
well then you're probably much more likely to get a suite,
than with $20, because honestly,
there's just so many people trying it with $20 these days,
that it doesn't mean that much anymore.
And something you can do to improve your odds
when doing this bribe trick is to be nice to them,
be pleasant with them, say please and thank you.
Have a nice conversation with them.
And also, you can ask the front desk agent
for an envelope and a pen, and then write "housekeeping"
on that envelope, put like $10 in it.
So then, that person will think, "hey,
this guy or gal is a great tipper.
And if I give them a good upgrade,
well, then I'm probably going to get a nice tip myself."
Another strategy that a lot of hotels are now using,
is that after you purchase a room,
like let's say you purchase a basic room,
on the next screen after checkout, it will say, hey,
would you like to pay a hundred bucks a night
and upgrade to this suite?
And by doing so, you're saving $200 a night.
You're probably going to get that suite
for about a 50% discount.
And also on this topic, sometimes, instead of offering it
to you right away, they'll send you an email
a little bit before your stay,
or a couple weeks after booking, or something like that
with a similar upgrade offer.
Another tactic you can use to get a highly-discounted suite
is to book a basic room, and then call the hotel,
and be like, hey, I booked a room for these nights,
this is my reservation number.
But I was thinking I actually might want a suite,
do you have any upgrade options available for me?
And doing this, you can usually get that suite
for far less than the retail price.
If you're gambling
while in Vegas, go to the loyalty desk,
and sign up for a loyalty card, because when you play
and you give that card to the dealer, or you stick
that in a slot machine, that's going to accrue you points,
but much more importantly, it's going to make
your future trips a whole lot cheaper,
and you could get tons of comps depending
on your level of play.
And even a low roller like myself can get free rooms
at the lower to mid end hotels on the Strip.
But higher rollers, people who are spending more money
than I am, they can get gigantic suites,
they can get all of their food and beverage comped.
They can get free limo rides to and from the airport,
free show tickets, and all sorts of other stuff.
So if you're planning on gambling in Vegas, definitely,
definitely play with your loyalty card in the machine,
because it's going to make your trips a whole lot cheaper,
and you could be staying in a place like this for free.
As a matter of fact, if you look out my window here,
you can see some palm trees right out here.
And right below me is actually one of the villas
for the high rollers.
These villas are gigantic.
They have a private pool, a private jacuzzi.
But these massive villas are reserved for the whales,
so you really have to be gambling a lot of money
if you want to stay in a place like that for free.
If you want to really live it up in Vegas
without spending a ton of money, something you can do
is look for the huge suites at the Strip's older,
lower end hotels, like at Harrah's, or Bally's,
or at Flamingo.
Because a lot of times, you can get huge suites
at those hotels.
I'm talkin' like 2,000 square feet
for a hundred or $200 a night.
When a room of that size at Conrad, for example,
you're gonna be spending well over a thousand dollars.
One way you can sometimes get a free suite
in Las Vegas, is if something goes really wrong
with your stay, or like you check in
and you go to your room, and there's something
seriously bad about your room.
Well, a manager might give you a suite
without you even asking. Or, if they don't,
you might be able to convince them to give you
a nice room to make up for this awful experience
that you just had.
Now, I'm not suggesting to make up bad experiences
just to work one over on the hotel.
But sometimes, something goes really wrong with a stay,
and they need to do something to make it right for you.
One way to get a totally free suite in Vegas is to go out
to a casino and start playing big.
If you're playing big enough, before long,
a host will come up to you and be like, hey,
are you staying anywhere tonight?
We have one of our high roller suites available,
complimentary for you if you would like it.
So, that's something that happens a lot
with the people who are playing big.
That's never going to happen to me because I just don't
gamble enough, but it is a real thing here.
You can also use a similar tactic and go one step further
by bringing a bunch of cash with you,
even if you don't intend to spend a fraction of it.
So, let's say you bring $2,000
with you or you bring $10,000 with you.
And then, when you arrive in Vegas,
you go to the casino cage at your hotel,
and you deposit all of that money in with the cage.
And then, you can like have that on your player's card,
or take it out as a marker on the table.
Now, if you deposit $10,000 cash at the casino cage,
I can almost guarantee you
that that cashier is gonna call
a host and be like, hey, do you know this guy?
Oh, this guy just
deposited $10,000 here.
Maybe you should go talk to him.
And then, after you do that, after you deposit
that large amount of cash in the cage,
go out to the casino and start playing fairly big.
And I can almost guarantee you that you're going to attract
the attention of a host,
and you're probably going to get a free suite.
Now, when I talk about gambling in this video
or depositing a ton of cash into the casino cage,
please gamble responsibly, never bet more than
you can afford to lose.
And please don't play for the comps,
because the casinos comp you based on how much they expect
to win from you.
And they always comp you far less than they expect to win.
They might comp you 30% of your expected losses,
or something like that.
So, come here, play and have fun, but never bet more than
you can afford to lose.
And don't play for the comps.
That's my advice.
And maybe you're thinking, "well, why are you saying like
bet big, because it could get me a suite?"
Well, I'm kinda saying like, view that as a bonus.
If youre one of the lucky ones to hit a big jackpot in Vegas
now I'm talkin' like $5,000 or more, go find a casino host,
and ask them if they're willing to upgrade you to a suite,
because they now know you have a bunch of cash.
People who have just won are looser with their money,
and they're more likely to bet it more recklessly,
because now they're playing with the "house's money."
And they want you to stay longer,
they want you to play more,
so they're probably going to give you a suite
after hitting a big jackpot if you ask for it.
So, I'm a
low roller who comes to Vegas a lot.
And if I'm loyal enough to one casino or one casino chain,
well then, even with my low betting habits,
I can eventually reach the top level tier status.
And depending on the loyalty program,
if you're at the top level tier status,
you might qualify for a free suite upgrade on every stay.
And if you're a high roller or someone who bets
a lot larger than I do, well then, you can achieve those
top level tier statuses pretty quickly.
But then again, if you're already betting a lot larger
than I am, you probably have a casino host,
or you're going to get one soon,
and then they can hook you up with those suites.
These top level tier statuses also apply to
hotels as well.
So if you're a frequent traveler, like you travel
a lot for vacation, or you travel a lot for work,
and you're loyal to one hotel chain,
let's say you always stay at Marriots.
Well then, eventually, you're going to reach
that top level status with Marriott.
And once you're there, you're going to be eligible
for free suite upgrades on every stay based on availability.
So, this is one great way that you can get free suites
on every trip to Vegas.
But let's say you're someone who travels a decent amount
but not nearly enough to reach that top level status,
you might consider looking at that hotel's credit cards,
because if you travel a decent amount, well then,
a credit card might be enough to boost you
to that top level status, which can be well worth it
in many cases.
I got a free suite upgrade
on my last Vegas trip, because I booked that
with American Express' Travel program,
Fine Hotels and Resorts.
And if you book with Fine Hotels and Resorts,
you get a one level upgrade based on availability.
So, what I did was book a Strip view room, and then
the next level up was a one bedroom suite,
which was way, way more expensive than a Strip view room.
But because they had availability, I got that upgrade
to that one bedroom suite, in addition to
so many other benefits, like I got also got a $240 food
and beverage credit, amongst other things.
I actually made a video about that.
So if you'd like to learn more,
I'll link to that right up here.
So now the moment you've all been waiting for,
how the heck I got upgraded for free to this massive
1100 square foot room at Conrad with this awesome bathtub.
It even includes a rubber duck by Nectar Bath Treats.
And that is because I have Hilton diamond status.
And I know I already covered hotel status
and casino loyalty program status,
however, I did not get Hilton diamond status
by earning it.
All I did was get a credit card.
I got the Hilton Aspire credit card,
which gets you automatic top tier status in Hilton.
Like the day you get the credit card,
your status changes from whatever it is to top tier diamond.
And when you're diamond, you qualify for an upgrade
to a one bedroom suite if there's availability.
But there's also other perks that come with it,
like diamond members also get access
to the executive lounge if the hotel has one.
And if the hotel doesn't have an executive lounge,
well then, you get like $50 in food and beverage credit.
And I really love those lounges
because they give you free hors d'oeuvres,
and free alcohol, and all sorts of goodies like that,
as well as a nice place to sit, relax, and work.
This Hilton Aspire card, it does come
with a $450 annual fee.
However, that's more than made up for
with all the perks you get from the card.
You not only get diamond status,
you also, every year, get one free night
at any Hilton property.
So, this can be used at Hilton properties that cost
over a thousand dollars a night.
And in addition to that,
you get a $250 airline credit every year,
and you get a $250 credit at Hilton resorts every year.
And in addition to all those, you also get
priority pass lounge access in airports.
And with that priority pass lounge access,
you can bring two guests with you every time as well.
So, for a $450 annual fee, it's easily made up for
with all these credits you get with it.
Plus, you get automatic diamond status,
which gets you free upgrades in Las Vegas
to rooms like this at the beautiful Conrad hotel.
I made a video on
the 15 best tips for Las Vegas newbies,
so click on this video, and watch that.
Even if you're a Vegas veteran,
you're still probably going to learn a couple things.
So, watch that video, and I will see you next week.