Two Las Vegas Trips in Two Weeks

Before getting into the details, this wasn’t about trying to take more trips — it was about using what we already had in the most efficient way possible.

We looked at:

• Credits that were expiring soon
• Points balances we could realistically use
• Timing (midweek vs. holiday pricing)
• Opportunities that popped up (like the Las Vegas Bowl)

Instead of forcing everything into one trip, we adjusted and split it into two — which ultimately allowed us to maximize more credits with less out-of-pocket cost.

The first trip was intentionally planned to use expiring credit card hotel credits before the end of the year.

We had opened the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Business card in August, which includes a hotel credit when booking select properties through Chase The Edit. Las Vegas worked especially well for this program because it offers multiple eligible hotels at reasonable rates, particularly mid-week or when you’re flexible with dates.

For this trip, we booked:

Mandalay Bay (2 nights)

This ended up being our first stay at Mandalay Bay — one of the few Strip resorts we hadn’t yet tried. The Chase The Edit credit covered nearly the entire stay, leaving only the mandatory resort fee out of pocket.

Chase The Edit bookings typically include:

• Daily breakfast for two
• A property or experience credit
• Room upgrade when available
• Early check-in and late checkout when available

Important note: While Chase The Edit advertises daily breakfast, several Las Vegas properties do not include breakfast as part of the benefit package. Always check the property-specific benefits at booking — especially in Vegas — as breakfast is not guaranteed at every hotel.

The Palazzo (1 night)

The Palazzo is one of our go-to Las Vegas hotels, and we booked this stay using Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts®. Even though we had already stayed there earlier in the year, we still had enough remaining credit to book another night — on what ended up being one of the cheaper nights of the year.

Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings include:

• $100 on-property credit
• Daily breakfast for two
• Room upgrade when available
• Early check-in (we’ve checked in as early as 10 a.m.)
• Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout

We had originally planned to add a fourth night at Resorts World to use another credit, but once trip #2 came together, shifting those credits to the second trip turned out to be the better move.

At first, we considered combining everything into one longer stay.

But splitting the trips ended up working better.

• It allowed us to use different credits across separate stays
• We avoided higher peak pricing around New Year’s Eve
• We kept flexibility to adjust once the second trip opportunity came up

This is something we’ve learned over time — sometimes separating trips creates more value than combining them.

The second trip came together quickly after Nebraska was announced as playing in the Las Vegas Bowl. Since the game fell on New Year’s Eve, staying to experience the Strip festivities made the decision easy.

Our son and daughter-in-law joined us, along with our niece. Jon and our son went to the game, while the girls did their own thing — which worked out perfectly.

Finding a hotel for New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas is notoriously difficult, but we were able to book Virgin Hotels Las Vegas using Hilton Honors points — which ended up being a huge win given how high cash prices were.

Virgin isn’t on the Strip and doesn’t typically meet our usual 4.0+ TripAdvisor rating rule, but since we had stayed there before and liked it, we were comfortable booking it again.

The location worked well:

• Close to Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas, where we didn’t eat but still stopped in for a great German beer
• Near Naked City Pizza and the attached Buffalo Bills bar, which was just as fun as we remembered
• About a one-mile walk to the Strip, which made New Year’s Eve crowds manageable without needing a ride

To avoid changing hotels, we booked 12/30 on a cash rate. Since Virgin qualifies as a Hilton resort, we stacked:

• Amex Hilton Honors Aspire resort credits
• An Amex Offer that took $80 off the total

After credits and offers, we ended up under $100 out of pocket for two rooms for two nights, with additional credits still available on other cards.

These two trips weren’t about luck — they were about combining a few simple things:

• Using credits before they expire
• Staying flexible with dates and locations
• Stacking multiple benefits on the same stay
• Adjusting plans when better opportunities come up

Las Vegas continues to be one of the easiest destinations to book strategically:

• Strong availability across multiple hotel programs
• Easy stacking of points, credits, and Amex Offers
• Competitive pricing compared to other major cities
• Flexibility for both planned and last-minute travel

We didn’t plan two Vegas trips back-to-back — but looking back, the combination of timing, credits, and flexibility made it one of the most efficient ways we’ve used points and benefits.