Las Vegas, via Manchester or Heathrow?

I need to fly to Vegas in January, and as I live in the North West it would suit me to fly from Manchester.

I was under the impression that VA had restarted flights from Manchester after they had been paused for a number of years, but to my surprise, there are no direct flights in winter.

However, there are some different options, and I’d be interested in people's thoughts on which are the most efficient, sensible, and cost-effective.

1) LHR to LAS direct.
Upper class would cost me 135,000 points and £996 in taxes, but I’m a few points short, so I’d need to buy the difference at a cost of £300. I’d also need to drive to LHR from the North West, which is a 4-hour drive at best. Ordinarily, I don't mind the long drive, but I dislike the drive home after such a long flight.

2) MAN to ATL to LAS
No reward seats are available as the flight is operated by VA and DELTA. Upper class is too expensive for my liking at £3k, so I’d probably opt for PE at £1228.

The total journey time is 16 hours plus a short drive to MAN. The total journey time is probably 2-3 hours more than LHR, and it would save me the long journey to LHR, but it’s a hell of a journey in PE.

3) MAN to AMS to LAS
At 13 hours, the total journey time is only 1.5 hours longer than flying from LHR, but without the long journey to the airport.

For business class the cost is 155,000 in points and £733 in taxes, but I’d need to spend £480 to purchase the additional points.

This sounds like the easiest option, but KLM is one of my least favourite airlines. I flew with them recently in business class, and it was disappointing, as always.

Keen to hear people's opinions or ideas in case I am missing something!

I don’t have the time to check for you at the moment, but have you checked ex-Eu pricing?

I do this route a lot (also starting in the north west) but I take the train down to LHR instead. Yes its a bit of a faff but I like the LHR experience.

I would avoid connecting via ATL for this trip.

The KLM points option doesn't make a huge amount of sense from a value point of view.

Our BA shuttle was cancelled hours before we were due to fly to LHR last month. We had onward flight to BOS that day so filled the car with fuel and drove from north Wales to LHR asap. It was a BH Friday but we did it in just under 4 hrs. Gave us a few hours in Clubhouse as hoped. We had cancelled our return shuttle with BA as our car would now be in London not Manchester (full refund given ) so had same angst as you about driving home after trip. However, landed in time for Revivals, a shower and breakfast, 4 hr drive home with one stop and we thought it actually went pretty well. Ok no hold ups on roads is a big help. But some sleep on BOS to LHR flight and then Revivals and drive home was actually pretty good and better than a 2 hr wait for LHR - MAN then drive home from MAN. We may do this in future as we hate the wait in MAN, then change of terminals at LHR and now worrying if the shuttle will even take off.

What about MAN-JFK-LAS? Or do the timings not work?

There hasn’t been any winter MAN-LAS flights for some time. It went seasonal a number of years before it was first dropped.

I'm in South Yorkshire and despise the trip to LHR, mostly because of the journey back.

That said, if I the choice is PE from MAN vs UC from LHR, then I choose LHR everytime.

Other notes:
- I think MAN - ATL - LAS should be doable using points; i.e. not prohibited just because it's got a DL operated flight?
- I have upgraded just the VS operated flights of bookings that contain DL operated flights many times in the past. MAN - ATL has always had an excellent chance of a reward seat in my experience when it's operated by an A333

Flying to Vegas from Manchester in January offers these options: direct LHR to LAS in Upper class, but with high costs and a long drive to Heathrow; MAN to ATL to LAS in Premium Economy at £1228, with a shorter drive but a longer journey; and MAN to AMS to LAS with a 13-hour trip, a short drive, and business class for extra points and costs. Considering balance between comfort, travel time, and expense, the MAN to AMS to LAS route seems practical unless airline preference is crucial.

Personally, I'd drive to Heathrow as my priority option, and leave car whilst away.

The drive back is a pain, but it's WAY better than a connecting option. If I had to do connecting I would do via ATL at that time of year, as there are possible weather complications of most of the alternative cities in Janurary (ie, it's bloody cold in North USA).

Thanks for the feedback, all.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who despises the trip to LHR! It's not so bad departing from, and the clubhouse is fantastic, but as pointed out, the drive back is awful.

Notwithstanding that, I have decided to go via LHR. The saving grace is that the return journey is a night flight, and I'm going upper. I should be able to get 5-6 hours of sleep on the plane, which will make all the difference.