Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

the strip:

MGM Resorts’ self-parking fees begin on Thursday

Paying for Parking on the Strip

Steve Marcus

Christi Callahan pays for her parking at the MGM Grand parking garage Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016.

Paying for Parking on the Strip

A view of a parking payment machine at the New York-New York parking garage Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016. Launch slideshow »

The era of free parking on the Strip officially will end at midnight Wednesday when MGM Resorts International begins charging locals for self-parking at all of its Las Vegas resorts except Circus Circus.

Self-parking will incur a fee at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, Luxor, New York-New York, CityCenter’s Aria and Vdara, Bellagio and the Mirage starting Thursday, an MGM Resorts spokesperson said.

The only way to still get “free” parking at one of those resorts is to earn Pearl status in the company’s loyalty rewards program, Mlife.

The five levels of Mlife, from lowest to highest, are Sapphire, Pearl, Gold, Platinum and Noir (which is invitation-only). All of MGM’s resorts in the U.S. are part of Mlife; generally, the more a guest gambles and spends at an MGM resort, the higher level they attain in the program.

Another path to free parking is to sign up for MGM’s Mlife Mastercard credit card, which automatically enrolls applicants in Mlife with Pearl status.

MGM announced in June that it would begin charging for valet and self-parking except for locals, who would be able to park for free until the end of the year. It was the first crack in the venerable tradition of free parking on the Las Vegas Strip.

By the end of November, Caesars Entertainment also announced that it would soon begin charging everyone for valet parking at its Strip properties (again with exceptions for loyalty program members) and for self-parking, although only for tourists.

That program went into effect this month at the Linq Hotel and Promenade and at Harrah’s, and the company said it would be implemented at the other Caesars Strip resorts in the next few weeks.

Also in November, a day after the Caesars announcement, Wynn Resorts said it would charge for valet at the Wynn and the Wynn Encore but self-parking would remain free. The company said that it could roll out some kind of parking validation policy, but didn’t offer any details.

And in December, the Cosmopolitan piled on, saying it would start charging for both valet and self-parking in early 2017. A spokesperson with the Cosmopolitan said Tuesday there are no new details about its parking program.

What it costs for you to park at a MGM Strip resort

Monte Carlo, Luxor, Excalibur

Valet:

• 0 to 4 hours: $8

• 4 to 24 hours: $13

• 24-plus: $13 each additional day

Self-parking:

• 0 to 1 hour: free (first day only)

• 1 to 4 hours: $5

• 4 to 24 hours: $8

• 24-plus: $8 each additional day

Bellagio, Aria, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Mirage, New York New York, Vdara*

Valet:

• 0 to 4 hours: $13

• 4 to 24 hours: $18

• 24-plus: $18 each additional day

Self-parking:

• 0 to 1 hour: free (first day only)

• 1 to 4 hours: $7

• 4 to 24 hours: $10

• 24-plus: $10 each additional day

* No self-parking at Vdara

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