So i have been reading this forum for months and month and finally got a chance to go to vegas and try out the $20 trick. There were 8 out of us, we had 2 rooms but only 4 of us went when we were checking in. We had just booked 2 basic rooms at Caesars! When we got there it was around 3:30 and we went to check in. The clerk was out a female, our age (21-23) and extremely nice! We flirted with her and talked to her and stuff and i threw out a $20 bill. Didnt slip it between the cards or anything just put it out there in plain sight. Asked her if there are any complementary upgrades and she said she will check. After about 10 min of her typing and us talking to her, she eventually said she found us junior suites for BOTH our rooms, we were only trying to get one of them upgraded. She said its normally an extra $300 a night and was like 800square foot. We gave her another twenty because we were so happy and we had it for all four nights!! What a way to end the summer and start Senior year of college!

Got to the Airport around 2pm and the wife went to get the bags while I checked in at the Harrah’s Airport Check-In counter at the baggage claim. Stood in line about 5 minutes and there were 3 clerks, one young male, one young female, and an older female. Of the 3 I got the one I thought would have no chance with the upgrade (the older female) but low and behold she was great – put the $20 on between license and CC and she handled it like a pro, put it on the keyboard and started typing away. I had reserved Classic Room for Saturday (since Palace tower was like $500+) and Palace tower for Sunday night. Told her I didn’t want to move and if I could get an upgrade for Saturday to the Palace or Augustus that would be great. 3 minutes later she found the perfect room on the 23rd floor of the Palace tower with a wonderful view, granted it was a view of the north side of the strip but still was just great to lay there at night and look out the window at the lights on the strip.

Now if I could only tip the blackjack dealer $20 and get my $300 loss back

Just walked up and gave him the 20 sandwiched between the cards. Made a little small talk and told him if there were any upgrades they would surely be appreciated. He looked for a second and then said everything in the new towers was sold out this weekend so he didnt think he could do much. Asked what kind of room we would like, high floor with a view? I said yes. Kept looking. Found a parlor suite in the old tower. Said it was 700 sq ft as opposed to 300 for regular room. I said that would be perfect. (only catch was it had only 1 king bed and we were planning on sleeping 4 but he got a rollaway for us and we had a couch) Also had big bathroom with jacuzzi tube, wet bar, nice view of strip and was on second highest floor. Very good deal for 180 a night! (190 if you count the 20 tip)

Reserved a Classic room at the internet promo rate for $180 a night (weekend). The line was long at check in and we didnt think there was much chance at an upgrade. Made small talk with the young girl who checked us in, and asked if there were any complimentary upgrades for our anniversary. Gave here the DL and credit card with the $20 slipped in between. She started typing right away and was able to get us a Palace Tower room. It was fantastic, new beds and renovated to look like the Agustus Tower room, with the only difference being a TV in the bathroom and a slightly larger room size. Looked up the room online and realized that the price difference was $150 a night, not bad for $20 total!

Arrived to the front desk around 2 in the afternoon. When I was standing in line I saw three people which looked very unfriendly. Bummer to say one of them asked me to come over and check-in with them. When I walked up “Tony” greeted me and asked for me information. I handed him my ID & CC with the $20 in the middle and he knew the trick. He handed me back the $20 and he said ” Oh so I see Mr. B you would like a better room”. I said I would be happy if one was available. I asked for something with a view and he said, he would look. Then he picked up the phone and started to talk very quietly with a few giggles here and there. Then he said ok well I can put you up in the Palace Tower. I thanked him for his service and told him I wanted to tip him for it, so I handed him the $20.
I was very happy with the marble bathroom and jet spa. Room booked $110/night Room received $385/night. Plus I was there for three night. Always will try this from now on!!

Folded $20 between ID & CC. She put it aside, started typing, then said she was sorry but the room we reserved wasn’t ready so she “had” to put us on the 41st floor of the Agustus Tower in a double-sized room.

After standing in a long check-in line for more than half an hour, I approached the friendly-looking young woman and asked if a complimentary upgrade was available.

She smiled and took my license and credit card, and seemed genuinely surprised and delighted to find the $20 bill in between. She thanked me sincerely and said, “Let’s see what we can find.”

A few keystrokes later, she said “I think you’ll like this much better,” and thanked me again.

Was she ever right.

I ended up with a room on the 44th floor of the Augustus Tower, overlooking Bellagio’s lake and the Strip. In addition to the view, being that high meant that my elevator bank only served eight floors, so I never waited more than 10 seconds for an elevator all week.

Best $20 I could have spent.

Long line at check-in, which pretty much gave me no choice of clerk. Ended up with a woman in mid 30’s. Did the 20 between CC and ID, asked if there happened to be any complimentary upgrades available. She replied with “Im sure there is, let me check for you” without seeing the $20. Upgraded to the augustus tower for 5 nights. jetted tub, plasma, flat screen, 39th floor view of the bellagio fountains. All for $20 Yes please.
She even tried to give the $20 back to me when we were finished, I declined

Worked like a charm. My wife was concerned that it would be insulting to the clerk, but she sat attentive when she saw the $20 bill with my ID and CC. She searched diligently and found us a great room, with a giant deluxe bathroom and large room with separate sitting area. We were very happy.

Lesson for next time: I will be more discrete next time. I placed the 20 on top of the other cards and I notices that she was checking over her shoulder as her manager walked by. I will try to keep it more on the D-L.

So I had reserved a classic room for this “sold out” 4th of july wknd and didnt expect much luck. I was also planning to sneak 4 people into a room without the additional costs. I checked in for the room by myself and slipped the $20 between my CC and ID. The girl seemed shocked and kept saying “thank you very much”. I told her I’d appreciate anything she could do to help me out and after typing away for about a minute she hooked it up with a free upgrade to a room in the palace tower (right next to the pool)!