Basic economy may not be the luxurious way to travel, but there are some fares to Las Vegas today that are so cheap it may be worth the pain — and if ever there were a destination where everything you’ll need should fit under the seat in front of you, Vegas may be it. God Save the Points reports fares to Las Vegas as low as $78.40 round trip on United from Washington DC or Chicago (or Denver or Los Angeles and others in the west) or on American from $83 out of Dallas or $99 from Fort Lauderdale. Cheap fares are pretty widely available in January into the beginning of February, with select dates/routes available through April.
Some examples to follow — click the city pairs or images to go to Google Flights:
Washington, DC to Las Vegas from $79
Chicago to Las Vegas from $79
Dallas to Las Vegas from $83
Denver to Las Vegas from $39 (!!) on Spirit or $79 on United
Fort Lauderdale to Las Vegas from $99
Keep basic economy restrictions in mind
The above fares are in Basic Economy, which means that you can only carry 1 item that fits under the seat in front of you, your seat won’t be assigned until check-in, you’ll board last, you may not earn miles, etc. American reminds you just how bad it is before booking — though note that regular economy isn’t that much more (and may work out even if you are booking for two people and you have the Visa Infinite Airfare discount of the Chase Ritz-Calrton card or the CNB Crystal Visa).
If you are an airline credit card holder, basic economy isn’t necessarily all that bad. United even reminds you on the booking page that if you pay with your Chase United Mileage Plus credit card, you’ll get a free checked bag for you and a companion .
You also maintain priority boarding with most of the major airline credit cards.
Bottom line
Basic economy isn’t for everyone, but these prices are competitive enough that they might work for some people. Additionally, if you hold an airline credit card, the worst of basic economy will be your seat selection — or lack thereof.
H/T: God Save the Points
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Ed’s response was totally unnecessary. Sounds he’s just some sort of curmudgeon or in other words a “Pr**k”
It’s annoying to read responses like Ed. I’m fine on clicking on this article. I may at some point need a inexpensive flight in the future or at the end of the year if I need a few more segments to maintain a current airline status. Thanks Nick for the information and it was good meeting you at Chicago Seminars.
[…] East coast to Vegas from $78.80 in Basic Economy: Most of these prices/cities were still alive as of the time of writing last night. […]
Even if it’s explicit in the subject heading, I don’t encourage content like this. Who in this game has any interest in Basic Economy? I don’t care if the damn flight is $1, it’s not interesting if you’re even remotely good — moreover, it’s encouraging a race to the bottom. It’s NOT a deal.
I disagree. I’d take this flight 8 days a week with a group of friends and save my points. Live a little!
I don’t care about blowing my points on business/first overpriced products like the bloggers. Travel isn’t “aspirational” for me. Either you always travel in a class that fits with the rest of your lifestyle and you can pay cash (you just use points when you have them or point redemption is good deal, etc.) or you do the whole spending all your points on first class suites and champagne thing. Personally I wouldn’t pay cash for the higher class stuff so I wouldn’t pay points at the prices airlines charge. Business should be 1.5x cost of economy for the 1.5x seat upgrade.