Archives for August 2017

Why buy a Las Vegas Explorer Pass instead of a Las Vegas PowerPass?

The Las Vegas Explorer Pass (a brand new product!) and the Las Vegas PowerPass are two of the leading multi-attraction products in the Vegas market. They both provide admission to top Las Vegas attractions on the Strip, but further consideration reveals some pretty substantial differences between these two products. Taking into consideration ease of use, flexibility, and how you save, it seems clear that the Las Vegas Explorer Pass is a clear winner.

How You Save 

The Las Vegas Explorer Pass advertises a savings of up to 55% on combined admission prices, and comes at a pretty low price point (only $65/adult for a 3-Choice Pass).

One of the most valuable things about this product is the flexibility you have in choosing attractions and visiting them at your own pace. No need to cram things into a limited number of days – you’ve got 30 days to use the pass after your first visit.

There are also multiple ways to save with this product – you can visit a variety of attraction combinations to maximize your savings without worrying about seeing only the most expensive sites. In fact, even the most inexpensive attractions will still have you coming out on top.

The Las Vegas PowerPass doesn’t advertise a specific savings percentage, but they do give you an example of how much you save when visiting 10 attractions (about $100 dollars on admission costs). That sounds great, but the problem? You have to fit all 10 visits into just three days!

While this product does give you the option of choosing a card that’s valid for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days, that’s a bit restrictive when it comes to time management. To make the most of your savings, you have to be visiting attractions all day long – no time to break for a visit to one of Vegas’ famed buffets or some casino play.

That also basically rules out their Grand Canyon West Legacy Tour – a 2.5-hour drive away from downtown Las Vegas (not the mention the $8 impact fee that isn’t covered by your pass). So there are some attractions you realistically won’t be able to visit if you want to make the most of the product.

Because of this product’s pricing scheme (around $85 for a 1 Day Pass), you have to visit at minimum three attractions per day – something that can be tricky to do if you want to take a long tour, for example. It also may make you feel rushed.

How Do I Use Them?

The Las Vegas PowerPass is purchased for the number of card days you want to visit attractions. You purchase the cards online and then pick them up in a specified location once you get to Vegas.

The Las Vegas Explorer Pass is purchased by the number of attractions (3 or 5). This pass is delivered instantly to your e-mail, and you can use it on a smartphone or print it out for admission. No need to pick anything up at a separate location, which is a big stress reduction when in town. You have 30 full days to use the product after the first attraction visit, so you can use it all on one vacation or spread it out over multiple visits if you live in the area.

What’s the Real Difference?

The most substantial difference between these two products has to do with your style of travel. If you prefer the flexibility and freedom of seeing what you want on your schedule – no time crunch, no pressure to see it all – then the Las Vegas Explorer Pass is a good option for you.

If you want to spend your entire Vegas visit running around between attractions – without pausing to spend a day at the casino – then the Las Vegas PowerPass may be a good choice. Keep in mind, however, that it requires some serious dedication to touring and exploring in order to get your money’s worth out of the product.

Extra Details

The Las Vegas Explorer Pass is available for convenient, eco-friendly instant delivery. No need to pick anything up or wait for the mail.

Both products offer basic information like maps and contact information (although for some reason the Las Vegas PowerPass asks you to download it separately).

The Las Vegas Explorer Pass comes with a free, full-color guidebook that not only includes maps and directions, but also includes important info about each neighborhood, hours of operation, and other valuable attraction details.

Last Thoughts

If you’re trying to decide between a Las Vegas Explorer Pass and a Las Vegas PowerPass, the biggest thing you need to take into consideration is your style of travel.  How much flexibility do you want in your attraction visits, and how much do you realistically want to visit attractions (possibly at the cost of some of Vegas’s other great pleasures)? How much do you want to spend before you see any real savings? In the final deliberation, it seems like the Las Vegas Explorer Pass is the best deal for your money.

Filed Under: Las Vegas

Why buy a New York City Explorer Pass instead of a New York CityPass?

The New York City Explorer Pass and the New York CityPASS are two of the biggest multi-attraction passes in New York. Both products offer discounted admission to some of the city’s top attractions, but they’re in fact quite different. Taking into account factors like available attractions, flexibility of use, and savings potential, the New York City Explorer Pass comes out on top.

We’ll begin with a comparison of the two products and then get into specifics about how you save.

Included New York Tourist Attractions 

New York City Explorer Pass 

Because the product includes more than 50 attractions, it’s impractical to list them all here. Instead, check out a selection of their most popular offerings.

New York CityPass

  • Empire State Building
  • American Museum of Natural History
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Top of the Rock OR the Guggenheim Museum
  • Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island OR Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
  • 9/11 Memorial & Museum OR Intrepid Museum

The New York City Explorer Pass includes all of the same attractions (or comparable attractions) as the New York CityPass without any either/or choices. This is especially a big bonus in a market like New York, where some of the biggest attractions are positioned as exclusionary choices with the CityPass, including the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial, and the Top of the Rock. It’s also unlikely that visitors will want to see both the Empire State Building and the Top of the Rock (the more popular of the two), but you’d want to choose the Top of the Rock anyway to maximize your savings.

How You Save 

The New York City Explorer Pass can save you up to 45% on combined admission prices, and their website offers real customer savings testimonials that often exceed that percentage. Customers saved hundreds of dollars per family!

One of the most popular aspects of this pass is the flexibility in attraction choice. You can select what you want to see as you go along, with your choice of 3, 5, 7, or 10 attractions, no need for either/or decisions. See what you want over the course of 30 full days!

There are also simply more ways to save with this product. Dozens of attraction combinations will save you the maximum advertised value, or even more!

The New York CityPass advertises that it can save you up to 42% on combined admission prices (so no real difference there), but your savings percentage is heavily dependent upon which attractions you choose.

You’re also more limited in attraction choice, taking into account the exclusions and the much narrower selection to begin with. You only have 9 consecutive days to visit each attraction, which doesn’t end up being a lot of time when you’re interested in making multiple trips to NYC.

In order to make the most of the pass, you have to choose certain attractions. If you want to maximize your savings, you have to see both the Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building, something that most visitors to NYC don’t choose to do. You also need to opt for the sightseeing cruise over the Statue of Liberty – and who wants to do that?

How Do I Use Them?

Both products serve as your admission ticket to the included attractions, but they otherwise work in different ways with different benefits.

The New York CityPass is a booklet of paper tickets that you order online or buy in person. You bring the booklet to each attraction, they tear off the appropriate ticket, and then you dispose of the book when you’re done.

The New York City Explorer Pass offers more delivery and usage options. If you choose a physical card (it looks like a credit card), it can be shipped or picked up in person in New York. Many customers choose to keep the card as a souvenir after their trip!

Or, if you prefer to be a little more high tech (or are a last-minute planner), the instant delivery option is a big win. Get the pass e-mailed directly to you immediately after purchase, and display it on a smartphone for admission. If you don’t have or don’t want to use a smartphone, you could also just print it out. This is a really popular option with customers.

What’s the Real Difference? 

The major difference between these two passes has to do with your preferred style of travel. If you like more flexibility and freedom in planning your itinerary, you’ll likely prefer the wider range of attraction choices and greater duration of the New York City Explorer Pass. You also don’t have to deal with exclusionary choices or a more restrictive path to greater savings.

If you only have a few specific attractions in mind, then New York CityPass may be a decent option. However, this also limits you in terms of choosing between those few attractions, in which attractions you need to choose to max out your savings, and flexibility in purchasing.

Extra Details

The New York City Explorer Pass features a number of diverse walking tours and bus tours, providing better opportunities to really get to know NYC culture. From food tours to T.V. and movie tours and beyond, you’ll find plenty to enjoy.

Both products come with additional discounts on things like dining, shopping, and entertainment. They also both come with a free area map.

The New York City Explorer Pass also includes a free, full-color guidebook that’s packed with useful info about each attraction, various neighborhoods you may encounter, and even free attractions.

Both products offer skip-the-line benefits at selected attractions.

The New York City Explorer Pass even includes a number of attractions in Brooklyn and the Bronx, allowing you to more fully explore all that NYC has to offer.

Last Thoughts

Deciding between a New York City Explorer Pass and a New York CityPass? Taking into account factors like flexibility, convenience, and ways to save, the answer seems clear. The New York City Explorer Pass is truly the best way to maximize your fun and your savings on your next vacation.

Filed Under: New York

Why Buy a Go Chicago Card Instead of a Chicago CityPass?

The Go Chicago Card and the Chicago CityPASS are the top contenders in the attractions pass game in Chicago.  Both products have some pros and cons, and both are popular with visitors from around the world. Nonetheless, these products are quite different from one another, and in many cases, offer distinctly different benefits. When you take into account attributes like flexibility, availability of attractions, and maximum savings potential, the Go Chicago Card emerges as the clear winner.

We’ll begin with a few basic points of comparison and then switch to discussing concrete savings available with each product.

Included Attractions

Go Chicago Card

There are far too many to list them all here, but here’s a few selected attractions offered through the Go Chicago Card program:

Chicago CityPass

  • Shedd Aquarium
  • Skydeck Chicago
  • The Field Museum
  • Museum of Science and Industry OR 360 CHICAGO
  • Adler Planetarium OR The Art Institute of Chicago 

As you can see, the Go Chicago Card includes all of the same attractions as the Chicago CityPass, without the need for any exclusionary choices. This is an especially tricky situation with regards to the Adler Planetarium and The Art Institute of Chicago, which are both tremendously popular attractions.

How You Save

The Go Chicago Card can save you up to 55% on combined admission prices, and their website offers several examples of real customer itineraries and how much they saved on their trips. If you want to maximize your savings, there are multiple combinations of Chicago tourist attractions that will save you far more than you paid for the pass.

It’s clear that one of the best things about this pass is the flexibility and freedom – you can create personalized itineraries and still get your money’s worth out of this pass. According to real travelers, you can save over $300 per couple!

Chicago CityPass advertises that it can save you up to 52% on combined admission prices.  Given that there are only six options, they don’t offer any real customer savings examples on their site, just vague reviews. Plus, in order to maximize your savings, you have to visit all of the included attractions (which can be really hard to do in a weekend) and you have to choose the more expensive one for both of your either/or choices.

The most significant downside to this product is how limited you are in choosing the attractions you want to see. You only have a few possible itinerary combinations, and you’re forced to choose between attractions that you might want to see. The most you can possibly save is $206.90 per couple. While that’s still a significant amount, it doesn’t match up to what you save with the Go Chicago Card.

How Do I Use Them?

Both products serve as your admission tickets to each of the included attractions without the need for additional purchases.

The Chicago CityPass is a collection of paper tickets that can be shipped or picked up in person in Chicago. Attractions tear off the paper ticket when you visit, and you hold onto the booklet for future admission to the other attractions. The booklet is disposable once you’ve used all your tickets.

The Go Chicago Card has a wider variety of delivery and usage options. You can choose a physical card (the size and shape of a credit card – much more durable than a booklet, and it can be kept a souvenir later!) that can either be shipped or picked up in person in Chicago.

Or you can opt for instant delivery of their digital pass. It’s the exact same pass with all the same benefits, but it allows you to use your smartphone as your pass the same way you can with airline tickets. If you like the instant delivery option, but prefer not to use the pass digitally, just print out the pass and present the paper copy to attractions. A majority of customers prefer the digital option because of its speed and convenience.

What’s the Real Difference?

The most significant difference between the two products lies in your style of travel.

If you want the flexibility to see what you want and as much as you want without the pressure of either/or choices and pre-selected attractions, the Go Chicago Card is the best choice. You’ll get a wider selection of attractions to choose from, a greater variety in attraction combinations that can save you significant money, and more freedom in how you use the pass.

If you only want to see a very specific, restricted set of attractions, then the Chicago CityPass might be a good choice. However, you have a lot fewer options, which don’t even include some of the most significant historical sites in the city, any tours, or architecture related sites (something Chicago is famous for!). You also don’t have the option to see both the Adler Planetarium and the Art Institute of Chicago, both of which are incredibly popular attractions. Ultimately, this product just doesn’t offer the same flexibility, variety, and convenience that the Go Chicago Card does.

Extra Details

The Go Chicago Card also includes smaller attractions that really give you a feel for Chicago’s history and heritage, like the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio.

Both products come with additional coupons for savings on dining, shopping, and/or other attractions.  Both products also come with area maps and essential details like directions and contact information.

The Go Chicago Card includes a free, full-color guidebook with your purchase. This includes need-to-know info on the local mass transit system (the CTA), interesting and useful details about local neighborhoods, and some relevant info on free points of interest and historical sites.

Both products offer additional benefits like “skip-the-line” privileges at certain attractions.

The Go Chicago Card also includes a number of sightseeing tours and cruises that simply aren’t available through CityPass, an option that gives you a real advantage when exploring Chicago and learning all about its diverse neighborhoods and cultures.

Last Thoughts

Trying to decide between a Go Chicago Card and Chicago CityPass? Sit down and make a list of what you want out of your vacation, what your budget is, what you want to see, and what your style of travel is. If you’re the kind of traveler that wants to make the most of your trip and maximize your savings, it seems evident that the Go Chicago Card is simply the better option.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Why buy a Go San Diego card over a San Diego 3 for 1 Pass?

The Go San Diego Card and the San Diego 3-for-1 Pass are two popular attraction passes with San Diego travelers. They both offer admission to three of the most popular San Diego attractions in the area for a discounted price, but they also have significant differences. When you take into consideration product attributes like flexibility, attraction choice, and maximum savings, the Go San Diego Card seems like a better value.

Let’s start with a comparison of what each product offers, then get into details about savings.

Included San Diego Attractions

Go San Diego Card

There are simply too many attractions available through the Go San Diego Card to list them here, but this is a selection of the most popular.

San Diego 3-for-1 Pass

  • San Diego Zoo
  • San Diego Zoo Safari Park
  • SeaWorld San Diego

There’s clearly a big difference between these two products. You get admission to over 40 area attractions – including the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and SeaWorld – with the Go San Diego Card, with the option for multiple visits on separate card days. The San Diego 3-for-1 Pass only includes those attractions, but offers the same option for multiple visits on separate days..

How You Save

The Go San Diego Card advertises that it can save you up to 55% on combined admission prices, and some of their real customer savings even exceeded that number! Customers literally saved hundreds on admission with this product.

The real value of this product is the freedom of attraction choice. You can see the same big three attractions as the San Diego 3-for-1 Pass, plus tons of other attractions, tours, museums, and more.

Another important aspect is the flexibility in how you save. You can visit a wide variety of attraction combinations and still maximize the value you get out of the product – no need to visit only the most expensive attractions.

The San Diego 3-for-1 Pass saves you between 10-18% on combined admission. That’s a significant difference in your savings percentage! Unless you visit all three attractions multiple times, your savings are minimal.

You also have to visit all three attractions in order to actually get your money’s worth, leaving you no flexibility to change your mind if the kids have had their fill of animals at one of the attractions.

How Do I Use Them?

These products actually function in similar ways, with a few exceptions.

The San Diego 3-for-1 Pass is available for purchase online from a number of different travel product sites, but they don’t have their own website. You can have the pass shipped to you or print it out at home.

The Go San Diego Card is available through multiple options. Purchase the card online or over the phone and have it shipped to you, or purchase it in market. You can also opt for instant delivery, and receive a digital pass directly to your e-mail. You can then display the pass on your smartphone for admission – ecofriendly and convenient! – or print it out.

What’s the Real Difference?

The Go San Diego Card is ideal for those of you who want a little bit more freedom in your attraction visits. You can still see the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and SeaWorld, but you also have the option to see other top attractions like LEGOLAND®, the USS Midway, the many museums of Balboa Park, and much more. You still have the option for repeat visits to those three attractions on the number of card days you purchased.

If all you want to see is these big three attractions, then the San Diego 3-for-1 Pass might be a good idea for you. That said, you have no flexibility to shift gears if the kids get bored or tired of animals, and no option for indoor attractions if the weather’s bad. So if you’re unlucky enough to hit a week of bad weather in San Diego, you’ve got no option but to trudge through the rain or skip the attraction visits altogether.

Extra Details

The Go San Diego Card also features several other major theme parks that the kids will love, including LEGOLAND®, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Belmont Park.

Both products offer admission to SeaWorld, Safari Park, and the San Diego Zoo.

The Go San Diego Card also includes a free, full-color guidebook with maps, directions, important contact information, info about transit options, and much more.

The Go San Diego Card also offers extra benefits like skip-the-line options at several top attractions.

The Go San Diego Card even includes attractions in La Jolla, Coronado, Mission Beach, Chula Vista, and beyond, giving you the flexibility explore the greater San Diego metropolitan area, the beaches, and even Los Angeles area attractions.

Last Thoughts

Trying to decide between a Go San Diego Card and a San Diego 3-for-1 Pass? Assuming you definitely want to see those big three attractions, you need to then expand your consideration to the way the passes work. If you want to see more than just those attractions, if you want to save more on admission, and if you want the flexibility to change your mind, then the Go San Diego Card is best for you.

 

Filed Under: San Diego