Went on 06/22/2019 around 9pm. There was a big line but it went fast. I didn’t get to target anybody was looking at the younger guys but didn’t want to be obvious. Got this older gentleman, chatted up some small talk about the Raiders stadium. Gave him the $20 dollar sandwich, and made a bs excuse that I’m going to propose to my side chick lol. I wanted to see if they had any complimentary upgrades, dude went to the back and bam.. they were able to upgrade me to the signature deluxe suite and also a free voucher for a buffet and a free bottle of champagne. Small talk goes along way. Good luck!

Method:
I wasn’t targeting anyone specific in the situation. I got to the desk, I said, “hi!, I’m checking in (big smile).” He asked for my ID. “Here’s my ID and credit card (slid it over to him), and this is for you, (slid a $20 bill folded in half) anything you can do for me I would really appreciate it (big smile).”

What I booked: Regular one bedroom balcony suite

Upgrades:
1. UPPER Penthouse Suite
2. Strip View
3. Early 11am Check in
4. $75 in Food/Beverage credit at MGM.

Value: Early check-in alone was $75. I’m going to guess total value was close to $500.

Strategy: Don’t be sneaky or sly about it. Have the attitude of, Yes, this $20 is for you no matter what you can do for me. Create a conversation where you can relate to each other. Ours was how he wanted to switch careers to the tech industry and I had just made that switch.

First time in Vegas! Went to one of the clerks on the left. No line to check in. Made small talk for 30 seconds or so then slipped her the sandwich with 40 bucks and asked if she had any complimentary upgrades available at all. She said she’d see what she could do and upgraded us to the highest one bedroom balcony suite they had left with a strip view in tower 2. We paid originally with 35000 chase points and the room we got would’ve been closer to 90000 points so I’d say we made our pretty well.

I have reserve 3 Deluxe Suites for 2nights. $50 sandwich, upgrade to Deluxe Balcony Strip View Suite, Deluxe Suite Strip View, One Bedroom Balcony Suite, in same floor.

We checked in and presented the $20 between the ID and CC. The clerk knew exactly what we were asking for. She said “let me check first if I can upgrade you”. Our party had 2 rooms booked together. Initially they were going to be together on the 9th floor. I asked if its possible for a complimentary upgrade to a Higher floor with a balcony. She researched and said it would not be possible to keep the party in the same tower – since they had a single Deluxe Balcony Suite left in Tower 2 & 3. We gladly took her up! We had 32 Ph and 36 Ph floors with balconies and beautiful views. Amazing value for $20.

Put a $100 bill in-between CC and ID. Didn’t care who was at the front desk, money ALWAYS talks. Was offered a free upgrade to a bedroom balcony suite ($45+ more a night), but I declined since it’s too big for 2 people. Was also put in 3rd highest floor PH, facing strip ($20+ more a night). The view alone was worth it imo, it was amazing. Had sex on the balcony too.

Stayed for 7 nights, saved more than $450+ with the $100 trick. Try it sometime, $20/$50/$100, it still works.

Getting an upgrade here will largely depend on the person you get at the front desk. The younger the person, the better. I arrived at approximately 1AM in the morning to check in; however, early check-in time is 12AM. I went to the front desk and asked if I could check in EXTREMELY early (before the early check-in time) and get a possible room upgrade with nearly 100% occupancy at the hotel. Because of the 100% occupancy (or near), I was told that it was going to be nearly impossible to get anything. I slipped the employee a fresh $100 bill along with my ID and CC after being told that. I booked through a 3rd party site and the employee told me they would do what they could. First, they canceled my original 3rd party reservation and made me a new one, so that I could receive the upgrade. Keep in mind that my stay was a long 4 nights, which makes it even harder to upgrade. In the end, I “bumped” another person off their reservation list (sorry) and received an upgrade to a 1 bdr balcony suite ($50+ per night upgrade x 4 nights + $75 early check-in fee + priceless super early check-in fee + sleep.