Visa is kicking it up a notch by offering cardholders nearly a hundred discount offers on everything from LEGOLAND®, to shopping at Chicos, to dining at Pizza Hut.
Some of the discounts that caught my eye:
$5 off any purchase of $20 or more at Planet Hollywood
20 percent off Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels in the U.K. (including the Mayfair in London)
$10 off any two entrees at Buca di Beppo
$5 off a $50 purchase at Target
20 percent off tickets to single day tickets to LEGOLAND®California and Florida
20 percent off tickets to LEGOLAND® Discovery Centers in Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Kansas City, Atlanta, Westchester, NY and Toronto, Canada.
20 percent off the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
The offers all require you to pay with a Visa credit card to receive the discount, and there may be promo codes or coupons to apply to your purchase. You can use any of dozens of Visa credit cards, including my personal favorite, the Chase Freedom Credit Card.
Be sure to read the fine print for the details on these offers, and check around to see if there are any better deals out there!
Click here to compare current rewards credit card offers.
Wall to Wall Pinball Machines at the Pinball Hall of Fame, Las Vegas
The Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas houses the world’s largest pinball collection, with over 200 vintage games available for play.
The games are from the 1950s to the 1990s, and have been meticously restored and maintained by pinball maven Tim Arnold.
We met with Arnold when we were in Vegas in 2012, and he graciously explained everything that goes into running such an enormous operation.
The Pinball Hall of Fame
There’s no admission charge, and all the older pinballs are set to 25 cents per play, with newer 1990s models set to 50 cents per play.
You and your family can have a lot of fun here for a roll of quarters!
The museum is a nonprofit, and all proceeds go to local charities, such as the Salvation Army.
Arnold says:
I like the Salvation Army a lot because they’re kinda like us. They’re downtown on the cheap side, and they put all their emphasis on the areas that need emphasis, and not a lot on hierarchy and organization.
The Pinball Hall of Fame is located about 2.4 miles east of the strip at: 1610 E Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV. The museum is open every day from 11 am to 11 pm, except Friday and Saturday, when it stays open until midnight.
Fantasia at the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas Photo by Joel Shprentz
The Neon Museum Family Activities
Another Las Vegas Institution well worth a visit is the Neon Museum and its boneyard of discarded signs from casinos from days gone by.
If you are looking for some family friendly activities in Las Vegas, the Neon Museum has expanded its educational programming to include a series of events for kids and families.
Here are a couple of noteworthy events for kids coming up:
Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m. to noon – Orienteering in the Boneyard. Families will use compasses to participate in a maze-version scavenger hunt in the famous Neon Boneyard. Appropriate for people of all ages
Saturday, May 24, 2 to 4 p.m. – Drawing History in 3D. Children will learn how to draw their own 3D/anaglyph sign based on historic signs in the Neon Museum’s collection and make their own 3D-viewing glasses. Recommended for kindergartners through sixth graders.
Family drop-in events are free and open to the public. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Register by sending an email to education@neonmuseum.org.
Sign Design: Past, Present and Future
On Tuesday, April 22, the Neon Museum will host its next PRISM Times of the Signs event, a panel discussion: “Sign Design: Past, Present and Future.”
Lonely Planet Travel Guides are among the best, so whenever there’s an offer for a free download, I try to take advantage. The Apple iTunes bookstore is offering free downloads of a number of Lonely Planet guidebooks, including several specialty guides to travel in Britain.
The best free guides include:
Recession-Busting Britain — Best Free Experiences
Culture Vulture Britain — Best Cultural Experiences
Tasty Britain — Best Eating Experiences
Ye Olde Britain — Best Historical Experiences
Mini Britain Britain– Best Experiences for Kids
Free on iTunes
These guidebooks to England, Scotland and Wales are full length 100+ page books, though there is a fair amount of overlap between them. A number of the other books are merely teasers for the full-priced version of the guidebook. Hat tip to Miles From Blighty.
The USA Best Trips free book includes excerpts on road trips tothree regions — the Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 101 Oregon Coast, and Coastal New England.
One other full-featured free book worth mentioning is Discover the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel.
Everything in Vegas has a promo code or can be comped so I was surprised how hard it was to find discount tickets for the Penn & Teller show when we were in Las Vegas last summer. Eventually, I tracked down a discount code on Travelzoo, but it was not as good the 2-for-1 deal as that Southwest Airlines is offering its passengers.Penn & Teller are illusionists extraordinaire — and their show combines humor, magic, and libertarian political philosophy. Their shtick is to demonstrate how magic tricks are done. Penn does all the talking and Teller is mostly mute.
I am pleased to announce the winner of the contest for two Southwest Airlines drink coupons:
Congratulations Sean!
His entry was:
I knew I was in Vegas when . . . after a night of drinking we couldn’t figure out what that bright light was and then someone explained to us it was the sunrise. — True Story.
The winner was selected by the Random Number Generator.
Thanks to all the participants!
Sean, please email your snail mail address to admin@Fishing4Deals.com so I can send you the coupons.
The Flamingo towers over Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon Joel Shprentz Photo
Looks like the owners of Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon in Las Vegas had bigger fish to fry. Today, they pulled up their gangplank for a complete renovation of the property.
Bill’s, named for casino magnate Bill Harrah, sits smack in the center of the Strip, with great views of the Bellagio fountains. There is no better location in Las Vegas.
This was our favorite place to stay in Vegas — what with their Victorian stained glass windows in the showers and genuine hospitality.
It was a Sunday morning and we were waiting in the Las Vegas Airport (LAS) to board our Southwest Airlines flight home. Oh no. The flight is delayed two hours. There is an equipment change.
The gate agent makes an announcement. The substitute aircraft has fewer seats. Volunteers are needed to give up there seats. They can offer compensation and booking on the next flight out for each passenger who gives up their seat.
