How to Find the Cheapest Airfares to Las VegasSome common rules apply on how to find the cheapest airfares to Las Vegas but don't be fooled. Tuesday or Wednesday travel is difficult for the average person and in today's world flying on the cheap can be attained just as easily on Friday's and Mondays.
But the day variations do come into play. For example, if you ever tried booking one leg of your trip on a Sunday you'll often find a dramatic price jump.
I tried a round trip flight between Los Angeles and Las Vegas both Wednesday thru Tuesday mid-September and Friday thru Monday (that weekend jaunt). Hell, I'm close enough to do this!
Both these flights would have cost me round trip $118.00 plus taxes.
Now throw a Sunday into the mix and we find that it's going to cost an additional $20 and up.
And while flying in and out on a Sunday is bad when it comes to Vegas (and anywhere else for that matter), Saturday is even worse (at least where Vegas is concerned). If you are looking to find the cheapest airfares to Las Vegas, keep Saturday out of the equation.
There were fewer flights for $20 more and the prices rose pretty rapidly across the board.
I always use Expedia.com when checking flights. This doesn't mean I am going to necessarily book via Expedia (though I often do - they make the task simple and even offer their own points system). Expedia is used for comparison purposes. Occasionally I can save a few dollars going to the actual airline site or by checking out some of the low fare carriers that fly in and out of Vegas (Allegiant and Southwest come to mind).
Depending on where you are located, sites like Expedia will sometimes offer crazy three stop flight options that can save some money. There are also various airline combos offered.
For example, I tried searching for flights between Miami and Las Vegas. The cheapest I could find was a nonstop American Airlines flight to Vegas from Miami and a flight back that was on United's Ted brand that connected all the way up in Washington, DC. A bit out of the way but in many cases I would have saved anywhere from $10 to $100 and even more depending on my restrictions.
But why go through that hassle. Miami is one of the markets served by two or more airports and the secondary is often much cheaper to fly in and out of. Ironically, in many cases it is also the more convenient and less-hassle free.
For example, when I was reviewing how to find the cheapest flights to Las Vegas, I was amazed to learn that I could get a flight for almost $50 less from Fort Lauderdale International than Miami. The two different airline combo applied but the connections were seamless and sensible. Going there, I would simply connect via Dallas on American and coming back I would connect in Houston on Continental. No need to fly 3000 miles off course to make my connections, so it's a time saver.
The smaller sometimes out of the way airport rule doesn't always apply especially when we are talking about something outside the secondary market. For example, when trying to find a cheap flight to Las Vegas out of Orlando, I discovered that a 47 mile drive could take me to Daytona Beach. But the competition at these smaller regional airports is such that the fare was a whole $100 more. It makes even more sense for someone to drive from Daytona Beach to Orlando though in an effort to save some money. Just don't cab it!
An even better way to save money and still win at the casino? Play online!
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Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com
Originally published September 7, 2007 10:17 am ET
