The Eagles at The Sphere in Vegas!! – March 2025

I have been on quite a few trips since my last blog post!  And one of those trips led to several other amazing trips due to points and miles.  I’m signing on to write about my most recent trip as I am sitting in the Capital One Lounge at the DFW airport, but just to summarize what led up to this …

There is a thing called Status Match Merry Go Round® .  The website explains it in detail, but basically last fall I opened a Wyndham Business Earners – Barclays credit card.  In doing that, I earned Diamond Status at Caesars Palace Casino.  The next step involved taking a trip to Atlantic City, which my sister, Lisa, & I did in November.  During that trip, we visited Hard Rock Casino and since we were Diamond Status at Caesars, Hard Rock matched that status to their Icon Status.  And once we had the Icon Status, we went to Ocean Casino which matched the Hard Rock Icon Status to their Prime Status.  So Wyndham Business Earners credit card > Caesars Diamond Status > Hard Rock Icon Status > Ocean Prime Status. 

Once we earned all of those casino statuses, we received multiple different offers.  One was up to 4 nights at Atlantis in the Bahamas. Another was up to 2 nights at Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas. And still more involve free cruises – which we have not taken advantage of yet.  BUT … just like all good things, the offers that I received have now been revised and it’s not quite as lucrative as it was back in the fall of 2024.

The trip I’m writing about today involved the 2 nights at Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas.  Two of my “Bama Mom” friends (Roni & Diana) and I were talking back around Christmas time about some free Vegas comps I had received due to my recent trip to Atlantic City.  Then I mentioned that a friend had recently seen the Eagles at the Sphere.  And just like that, we booked flights, hotel and concert tickets.  😊  We added one more friend (Kristina).

I booked the Wynn Resort – Encore Tower for free thanks to my Ocean Prime Status.  When I checked in, I had a nice surprise of a $50 food credit as well.  At the last minute, Kristina needed to work while on our trip, so she booked a second room through her credit card benefits and also received food credit.  Her room was on the top floor, so I asked to upgrade and ended up in the room next door! I just want to say that the Wynn Resort is amazing!  In fact, once we arrived on site, we did not leave again until time to go home!  Everything we needed was on site – including inside walkway and a pedestrian bridge to the Sphere so we didn’t even have to go outside to get to the concert. 

I booked my airfare using American Airlines miles.  I arrived LATE Thursday night due to maintenance issues in DFW.  Since my reservations did not begin until Friday, we stayed at the Rio with Diana’s Hyatt points.  Then, since we weren’t checking in until 3pm, we had plenty of time to go to Valley of Fire State Park that is about an hour outside of Vegas.  I had been there briefly before, but this time we had enough time to hike the White Dome trail.  It was a nice 1 mile hike through sandstone formations and a slot canyon. 

We got back to town in time to check in to the hotel, rest for a minute then get showered and ready for the Eagles concert.  We had dinner at the Seafood buffet at the Wynn – which had so much more than seafood – including Wagyu prime rib and crème brule!  YUM!!  A quick walk through the Wynn convention center area and across the pedestrian bridge and we were there.  The concert was amazing.  This is the third time I have seen them – the last time was just last year in Tulsa.  The audio and video inside the Sphere took the concert to a whole new level.  After a long day, we just went straight back to our room after the concert.

We had ZERO plans for Saturday other than hanging out at the pool.  I was awake early and headed down for coffee.  We decided to have brunch at Jardin restaurant.  Diana & I split an eggs benedict that was probably one of the best ones I have ever had.  And we were surprised by another friend (Ellen) that had come to town with her husband to go to the concert too!  It was fun catching up with Ellen and meeting her husband. 

After brunch – off to the pool.  Well, that’s what everyone else did.  I made a detour to the casino to try my hand at Craps since I have been reading up on that.  The casino table prices of $25 minimum were a little rich for my blood, so I found the Bubble Craps machines that had a minimum of $3.  I had fun practicing what I had learned and didn’t do too bad at all – not great, but not bad.  And I played a little slots too and found a few machines that were good to me.  I finally made it out to the pool and the water temperature was perfect.  The outside temperature was about 65-68 degrees so it was a little chilly once the shadows started getting long.  But I couldn’t stay long, because we had another busy evening.

Saturday night, we had reservations at the Four Sixes (6666) Restaurant (of Yellowstone fame), also located within the Wynn Resort.  OH MY!  The food and cocktails were amazing – as was the price. Haha!  But the waiter recommended splitting entrees and sides, which we had already considered.  Roni & I split the Filet Mignon and it was delicious.  And then we got a variety of appetizers and sides to share. And banana pudding to top it all off.  I highly recommend this restaurant if you will be in Vegas.

The Bryan Adams concert was at the Encore Theater.  I’m not sure how many people it held, but it was a small intimate venue.  He put on a great concert and you can tell that he still loves performing. 

Sunday morning brought an end to our long weekend in Vegas.  Kristina headed off before dawn to catch a flight home for a busy week.  Roni & Diana were heading off to play some more at Antelope Canyon and Zion National Park.  And I headed to the airport.  It was going to be a long day of layovers, but thanks to my credit cards, I had plenty to keep me busy.

I arrived at LAS (Las Vegas Airport) at around 8am.  I had about 3 hours to kill before my flight since I just had the girls drop me off on their way out of town. The Capital One Lounge had opened several weeks earlier and I was excited to compare it to their lounge at DFW.  That early in the morning, it was nice and quiet.  I grabbed a chair and some breakfast and coffee and chilled for the next couple of hours.  I had hoped to get on the standby list for an earlier flight, but all the flights were full.

The flight to DFW was uneventful and landed on time.  Now I had 6 hours to kill!  I went through my credit cards to see what benefits I had available.  I started out at Minute Suites.  Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with Priority Pass membership.  And I receive a free hour at Minute Suites.  This was my first visit.  The “suite” I got was about an 8×8 foot room that has a couch/bed, a tv and a desk.  They also supplied a pillow and a blanket.  I laid down and watched tv for my hour. 

Next, I meandered through the airport and found my way to Be Relax Spa.  My Priority Pass membership also allowed me to receive a half-hour chair massage.  And then I joined the wait list for the Capital One Lounge at DFW.  I stayed there until about 15 minutes until my boarding started.  My short flight to Fort Smith was completely full! 

Below is a summary of some of my expenses.  The concerts and food were a little much, but the room and airfare were very affordable!

Airfare	FSM > LAS > FSM	American Airlines	22,000 AA miles
Hotel	Las Vegas	Wynn Resort	2 free nights +$70/night + taxes to upgrade to the 63rd (top) floor $160 total cost for room/2 nights
Food	DFW	Capital One Lounge	Free dinner/drink
	Las Vegas	The Buffet at Wynn	$$$$
		Jardin (brunch	$12 for two with drinks (after using $50 credit)
		6666 Restaurant	$$$$
	LAS	Capital One Lounge	Free breakfast/coffee
	DFW	Capital One Lounge	Free dinner/drink
Entertainment	Hiking	Valley of Fire State Park	$15 entrance fee
	The Eagles	The Sphere	$$$$ (worth every penny!)
	Bryan Adams	Encore Theater	$$$$
	DFW	Minute Suites	Free 1 hour relaxation room
	DFW	BeRelax Spa	Free chair massage