Thursday Getaway: Vegas hotels under $50, and other last-minute travel deals

Welcome to Thursday Getaway, our weekly roundup of last-minute travel deals on flights, hotels, luggage and more. We're scouting the best discounts ahead of the weekend, whether you're ready to travel tomorrow or sometime in the near future. Keep up with all our shopping coverage here.

‘Tis the season to use your remaining PTO on a final, last-minute trip whether you’re road-tripping to a bucket-list destination or catching a cheap one-way to warmer weather. (Unless, of course, you’re taking advantage of fresh powder in the mountains.)

Whether your trip is purely for pleasure, or a getaway from the onslaught of family members circling your house, we’ve rounded up the best holiday travel deals from the cheapest places for a last-minute New Year’s Eve getaway to airport hacks for saving time and money.

Here are the best travel deals we've found this week:  

Flight deals

Expedia

The online travel agency is giving its members extra savings on warm-weather destination flights, hotels and packages this holiday season. You can save 20% or more on properties in locations from Puerto Vallarta to Costa Rica, while roundtrip flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Honolulu, among others, are marked down.  

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor has slashed prices by 50% on its Reco local experts, who can help plan and book your next vacation, be it this weekend or in 2023. Plug in your destination and let these guides do the rest for just $100, a serious discount from its original cost of $200.

Stitch Fix

If you’ve ever arrived at an airport and discovered your luggage had been lost in transit, you know it’s not a feeling you want to experience again. If (knock on wood) that happens to you this holiday season, one company wants to come to the rescue. Stitch Fix, known for its personalized boxes of clothing and accessories, is now offering Travel Style Insurance (whether you’re a member or not).

The company will send a limited number of $500 promo codes or free expedited boxes of clothes to folks whose luggage goes missing. To apply, send a copy of your lost baggage form to Travel-Style-Insurance@stitchfix.com through December.

CLEAR Plus

Did you know there's a way to cut to the front of the airport security line? Right now, Kayak is offering a free three-month trial of the CLEAR Plus membership, which is “a faster way to verify your identity so you don’t have to wait in crowded lines to have your ID checked,” according to the website. (It’s different from TSA PreCheck, which “expedites the physical screening process,” the team adds.)

"Members use CLEAR's network of dedicated lanes to verify their identity with their eyes or fingers, replacing the need to take out their wallet and driver's license," the team explained in a recent press release announcing a partnership with Boise Airport. Nab the trial for the holiday season; the annual fee is $189. 

Hotel deals

Booking.com

Find “Late Escape” deals on a variety of hotels available to book via this online travel agency, with savings of 15% or more on properties in destinations like Paris, Houston and Cancun through Jan. 3.

Priceline

The booking platform’s “Season of Savings” continues this week with savings up to 20% on MGM Resorts in Las Vegas. If you’re game to make a last-minute trip next week to a not-so-luxe property, rooms at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino are as low as $29 for a stay Dec. 19-20.

Caesars Entertainment 

This hotel portfolio includes popular hotels in Vegas and Lake Tahoe, among other destinations, and it's dishing out discounts up to 30% on select properties when you book stays three nights or longer. Use promo code LONG3 until Jan. 31, 2023, valid for stays through March 2. 

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

If packing your in-laws onto a fold-out couch in your apartment isn’t your jam, “outlaw” them to a participating Kimpton hotel. The brand is offering 15% to 25% off stays of three nights or more; just use the “Stay Longer and Save” rate option at booking. San Francisco’s Kimpton Alton Hotel is one such example, where your loved ones can grab clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf or use the complimentary bikes to pedal over to Ghirardelli Square.

NYC Hotel Week

Make your first trip in 2023 to the Big Apple: The city’s hotels are offering up to 23% off stays from Jan. 3 to Feb. 12 as part of the annual NYC Hotel Week. Participating properties include Margaritaville Resort Times Square, NoMo Soho, Walker Hotel Tribeca and more. 

Luggage deals

Amazon

If you just got your luggage out of storage and can’t find your packing cubes, Amazon has plenty of holiday deals on packing solutions, from suitcases and backpacks to cross-body bags, passport holders and more.

Away

Save up to $50 when you buy any two suitcases (or $100 for three) from this popular luggage brand as part of its limited-time "Mix, Match, and Save" sale.

July

July luggage is still the most lightweight carry-on we own, and now the brand has launched an expandable version of the suitcase. The Carry-On Light Expandable retails for $265 and adds 8 more liters of storage capacity. If you order by Dec. 18, you can get free express shipping on the luggage. 

Monos

The minimalist luggage brand is holding a "Spend to Save" sale Dec. 9-25 where shoppers can get $75 back on purchases of $500 or $150 on carts totaling $800.