Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
American Express and the US Travel Association (a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting US travel) have partnered to offer discounts and deals with various travel brands and loyalty programs during the next month, including hotel packages, points/miles purchase promos, rental car discounts and more. These deals are called the Daily Getaways.
Each day we’ll hash out the details of that day’s deal to see whether it’s worth taking advantage of.
Today’s deal goes live at 1 pm EDT, and you can sign up for alerts if you’d like to be notified when the deals go live.
All of these promotions have the added benefit that you can save an additional 10% by purchasing with an Amex card, like the Platinum and Premier Rewards Gold, or even co-branded cards like Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express.
Thursday June 19: Caesars/Harrah’s Hotel Packages
- Two nights at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City for $650 (10 available)
- Two nights at your choice of one of Caesars Las Vegas properties for $425 (10 available) (properties include: Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Paris, Planet Hollywood Resort, The Quad Resort & Casino, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino)
- Two nights at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas for $520 (5 available)
- Two nights accommodations at Rio Secco for $520 (10 available)
- Two nights at Bally’s Las Vegas for $315 (5 available)
All of the above deals are packages, meaning they include not only the hotel room or suite, but also additional items like show tickets, dining credits, spa services, airport transfers and more. Not to sound like a broken record this week, but the limited availability of these deals is again problematic.
I looked into the Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City offer because this is the first Atlantic City option we’ve seen during the Daily Getaways. The deal includes two nights accommodation at Harrah’s Resort, gourmet dinner for two, champagne in the room and round-trip limousine transfers between the airport and hotel. Travel must be completed by July 1, 2015, and must be booked at least 30 days in advance of scheduled arrival. The price for two nights in August on the Harrah’s website is $715 for two nights, making the Daily Getaway a good value since it includes all the extras. However, the Daily Getaway offer page says that blackout dates apply, but no specific dates are listed. This fact along with the 30 day advance booking requirement would make me reject this deal on principle.
One of the deals with the most availability (however, still just 10) is one that allows you to choose two nights in one of the following Caesar's properties in Las Vegas: Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Paris, Planet Hollywood Resort, The Quad Resort & Casino, or the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The offer also includes $100 dining credit, $150 spa credit, an in-room bottle of champagne and round-trip airport transportation for two between the airport and hotel in Las Vegas. You must travel byJuly 1, 2015.
I like the concept of this idea, as you have some flexibility in picking your resort, but I didn't even bother to dig into seeing if it's a good deal since the Terms & Conditions specify that "It is recommended that you call to book your travel early to avoid possible blackout dates and availability issues", but again no blackout dates are listed.
I recommend staying away from offers with unspecified blackout dates, because you never know what will happen when you try to book. All of the other Las Vegas deals listed here are also subject to unspecified blackout dates. Plus, you have to reserve 30 days in advance, and let’s be honest, gambling getaways are often spur of the moment travel plans. I vote no on this deal even if it is a money saver; I prefer the option to make last minute plans and am not willing to run the risk of getting blacked out.
