Yes, you can definitely get a free room at the Aria without having to gamble at the casinos. I know this for a fact because I’ve personally done this and can attest that this is true. All you have to do is have some patience and download the myVEGAS game either on your phone or play it on Facebook. This is not an ad. I’m not affiliated with myVEGAS or their partners in any way. Just trying to spread the word! I’ve already gotten free rooms at the Bellagio, Park MGM, and MGM Grand all by playing this game. This time, I thought I would redeem my points for the Aria since I haven’t stayed there in years.
How to Get a Free Room at the Aria on the myVEGAS App Game
If you haven’t read any of my other Vegas blog posts or have no idea what the myVEGAS game is, I highly suggest you start here first. Essentially, it is a free gambling game you play where you can earn and redeem points for free stuff, especially for free Vegas hotel rooms. The best part about it is that you don’t even have to pay a cent to play the game.
To get a free room at the Aria, it will cost you 175,000 loyalty points. Yes, this does seem like a lot compared to Park MGM (75,000 points) or MGM Grand (50,000 points), but if you want to stay at the best MGM hotel on the strip, then that is the price you are going to pay. Also, this amount is only for one night. If you are looking to stay two nights, then this is where the game forces you to spend money.
From what I’ve read online, you roughly have to spend about $150 on the game to unlock the 2-night awards for Bellagio and Aria. Or you can just do what I do and make my friends play the game so that way we can each book one night and then have the front desk tie our reservations together.
How Long Will it Take Me to Get 175,000 Loyalty Points?
This will highly depend if you plan on spending money or not spending money on the game. If you don’t spend money on the game, it will probably take you 2-3 months with continuous spinning. That’s also saying if you don’t run out of coins before then. This is where the “patience” part really comes in. If you are the impatient type, this will probably not work for you and you’ll have better luck spending a few dollars on the game. But if you are patient and can remember to just let the game spin by itself all day, you’ll be making enough points in no time. Especially, if you play the phone and Facebook games at the same time.
How To Redeem Your Loyalty Points for a Free Room at the Aria?
Once you have purchased your reward on the myVEGAS mobile app or on the Facebook game, you will be sent an email with instructions on how to redeem it. Make sure you have a mlife.com account otherwise, the link in your confirmation email will not work. Sign in to your mlife.com account and then click the link in your email to redeem this award. The link should automatically take you to your mlife.com account where you can see all of the available comp dates for your reward link on the screenshot below. Sometimes the link is finicky. Just make sure you’re signed in already and refresh the page a couple of times if it’s not working.
Please be aware that the moment you book your reservation for a certain date, you can no longer return the reward for a refund. You can return the reward at any point so long as you do not book actual dates through your mlife.com account. If you want to just look at the calendars, that is totally fine. Just make sure you return the reward if you’re not going to use it.
Dates You Can Redeem for a Free Room at the Aria
The current dates that you can redeem for the Aria are below. Please be aware that my dates may differ from your dates. The only way to know for sure what dates you have is by redeeming the reward and logging on to your mlife.com account to see what dates come up on your end. If you don’t see the dates you want, you can easily just return the reward and the game will refund you back your loyalty points.
Trying to Get an Upgraded Room
The day that I stayed was on a Tuesday so I thought I would have better luck with getting an upgrade or at least a better view. The room they originally assigned me was a room that faces the west which means it faces the freeway and not the strip. Even though it would probably be good for sunsets, I really wanted something that faced the strip. The front desk agent understood and said that she only had a room that faced the Cosmopolitan. So, it faces north more so than the strip (east), but at this point, I decided to take it. She was already letting me check in early so I didn’t want to push my luck.
Was it Really Free to Stay at the Aria?
I mean, is anything really free in this world, lol? Even though the room is completely free, you do end up having to pay the resort fees and the resort fee taxes. The resort fee is $45 and after taxes, it comes out to a total of $51.02. Still not a bad price to pay for staying at one of the nicest hotels on the strip.
Overall Review of the Aria
// Check-In //
Check-in was a breeze. Since it was a Tuesday, there was no line. I was able to check in early and got a room with a pretty decent view after I asked the front desk agent.
// Room //
I thought the room was huge! Not sure if it was the specific room that I got but the square footage seemed like a lot. It had enough space for the king bed, a seating area for two chairs, the TV console, a closet area, and the bathroom. My favorite part though is the tablet that comes in every room. You can essentially control everything in the room without having to leave your bed. If that’s not luxury, I don’t know what is.
// Pool //
From what I remember, there were three pools that you can choose from. Each pool was pretty decent in size so you didn’t have to worry about being too close to other people. I didn’t stay there that long since it was really hot and hanging out in my air-conditioned room seemed like a much better idea.
// Casino //
The casino floor is pretty dark compared to other casinos like the Bellagio, Wynn, and Resorts World. I prefer brighter casinos but I don’t gamble that much so I don’t think my opinion doesn’t really matter anyway. They have all of your typical card games, a high roller room, and all the slot machines you can dream of. On a different trip, my friend played blackjack, craps, and slots and he won on all of them. Aria is now one of his favorite casinos.
// Restaurants //
Aria has seriously up’d its restaurant game since the last time I’ve stayed here. They brought in well-known restaurants like Din Tai Fung, Catch, and Javier’s which makes it more appealing for me to want to stay here. Since I found out that Din Tai Fung has opened on the Las Vegas Strip, I’ve probably eaten here four times already. My friend that lives in Las Vegas also swears by Carbone from New York. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet, but it’s definitely on my bucket list for next time.
Tips for the Aria
- If you are planning on eating at any of the restaurants here, make sure you make reservations well in advance. Like 4-5 weeks in advance. Especially for Carbone. I’ve tried to book a reservation here three times already and have failed each time.
- Redeem your myVEGAS loyalty points for a free cocktail at the Lobby Bar. I’ve done it twice already.
- If you’re deciding between Bellagio or Aria, I would rather spend more loyalty points on a free room at the Aria. Bellagio’s rooms just felt old, but I know they are going through a renovation so maybe it’ll be better once they finish.
- At the time of this post, the Uber/Lyft pick-up is downstairs at the backside entrance of the hotel. It is not in front of the hotel so make sure you don’t end up going to the front by accident.
