The Buffalo Bills 2020 Schedule has been released and I did not waste any time in booking travel for next fall. San Francisco, Nashville, Denver, Arizona, and Las Vegas are the big destination games to choose from. Without a doubt, the Las Vegas/Buffalo Bills matchup is going to be the game of the season for travelers. At 7:30 PM EDT, I booked Two Roundtrip Flights from Buffalo to Las Vegas and a 3 Night Stay at the Hyatt Place for only $22.40!Â
Roundtrip Flights to VegasÂ
The flights for the first weekend of October when the Buffalo Bills travel to Vegas were selling like hotcakes. It was crazy! The best value options from BUF to LAS are flying with Southwest or JetBlue. Unfortunately, the direct options were already sold out so I had to book the next best option that includes a layover in Denver (at least I’ll get a free meal thanks to my priority pass membership).
I booked BUF to LAS for 10,794 Southwest Rapid Rewards points and a $5.60 fee. For Lisa’s (my fiance) flight, I added her for zero points thanks to the Southwest Companion Pass. The only cost for her flight is the $5.60 Fee. The grand total for Two flights to Las Vegas is 10,974 Rapid Rewards Points and $11.20. The exact same flight cash price is $312 per person!
LAS-BUF
Booking the flights back, I decided to opt for the cheapest option which departed Monday morning at 5:15 AM (I’m already tired thinking about it). If the Buffalo Bills win, I’m sure I won’t be getting much sleep the night before anyway. The grand total of this flight costs me 16,644 Southwest Rapid Rewards Points and $5.60. Again, I added Lisa for free with the Southwest Companion pass and paid the additional $5.60 Fee. The cash price for this flight is $625 per person!
Grand Total for Two Roundtrip Flights from BUF to LAS is 27,438 Southwest Rapid Rewards Points and $22.40. The flights should have cost $1,874.
Free 3 Night Stay in Vegas
Once the flights were booked, I moved onto the hotel situation. I knew that I wanted to be fairly close to Allegiant Stadium where the game will be played. In addition, I’m always looking for the best value properties. For the win-win, I booked the Hyatt Place Las Vegas which is only 3 miles away from the stadium. I chose this hotel for a number of reasons. First, it’s only 8,000 Hyatt Points a night (24,000 for three nights). The closest Hyatt to the stadium would require an additional 12,000 Hyatt Points. On top of the great value, the Hyatt Place Las Vegas offers a complimentary Airport Shuttle and Free Breakfast. The cash value of those same three nights costs $696.65. We love the Hyatt Place Hotels and had a great stay in Niagara Falls last year!
Grand Total for 3 Nights at the Hyatt Place Las Vegas is 24,000 Hyatt Points and $0 out-of-pocket. The hotel should have cost $696.65.
How I Earned these PointsÂ
People often find the points and miles world tricky. For this trip, both the Southwest and Hyatt points came from the same exact Top Credit Card. I transferred the Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to both the Hyatt and Southwest programs at a 1:1 Ratio. Using a transferrable point credit card makes earning and burning points easy to do. There are a handful of Ultimate Rewards Earning Credit Card options like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Reserve, and Ink Business Preferred. I earned 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points for opening the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card (and spending $4,000 in the first three months) and only used 51,438 for this trip!
More Basic Freebies
To keep this simple, there are many travel hacks that I’ll end up using on this trip but will list a few of my favorites below. Be sure to join our 4,000 + Member Basic Travel Facebook Group for more money-saving tips & tricks.
- Caesars Rewards Status Match – This will give me a Free $100 Dinner Voucher and 2 Free Show tickets to use that weekend while I’m in Vegas!
- Lounge Access – Complimentary food and beverages from both of the Club Lounges located in the Buffalo & Las Vegas international airports.
- Free Restaurant Credit – During my layover in Denver, I’ll be able to grab a free meal at Timberline Steaks & Grille. Capped at $28 for me and an additional $28 for my guest.
Basic Breakdown
A long weekend trip to Las Vegas for two people for only $22.40 versus $2,570.65! Years ago, I was an extreme couponer that marched proudly through the local grocery stores with loads of free shampoo. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that I could apply the same techniques to travel. If you’re interested in learning more about these Basic Travel Hacks, be sure to download the Free eBook by clicking Here!
