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Traveling miles without millions
By Chris Sabo
Holiday travel can be a
nightmare.
The privilege to travel home over
the holidays is not always an option for all students.
Fortunately, many major airlines and railways have understood
this dilemma and developed inexpensive and alternative ways for
students to travel.
The Student Advantage Discount
Card website is a great place to begin. Students who enroll are
given discounts at over 15,000 locations plus airfare and ground
transportation. A one year membership will run you $20.
Southwest Airlines offers weekly
specials to 60 airports in 59 cities nationwide. Students often
find
www.southwest.com to be extremely user-friendly and rather
inexpensive. After speaking with a representative from
Southwest, I was not overly impressed with their student
discount.
Any person under the age of 22
qualifies for a small discount (ex. $20 off full-fare rate
flying round trip from St. Louis to Providence, R.I.) only on a
full-fare purchase. Southwest allows travelers to purchase
one-way or roundtrip tickets 24 hours a day via telephone or
Internet.
AirTran competes for student
travel by offering low fares and no-hassle, short notice flights
to over 30 cities within the continental U.S. Students can also
take advantage of AirTran’s X-fares promotion. Any student
between the ages of 18-22 is eligible for $55 one-way stand-by
flights.
AirTran is located in Atlanta and
therefore requires a connection to most major cities. For
example, if I wanted to fly AirTran from Bloomington to Orlando
on stand-by, I would pay $55 for the Bloomington to Atlanta
flight and another $55 for the Atlanta to Orlando flight. $110
dollars plus applicable taxes would be the one-way fare for this
trip.
Students find this method of
transportation to be inexpensive, yet occasionally frustrating.
If the flight you are expecting to fly is full, you are out of
luck. You have the option of waiting for a later flight or
receiving a full refund. I have experienced delays while using
X-fares but still found this method of last-minute travel to be
extremely helpful.
If flying is not an option and
Greyhound is full, consider taking Amtrak for your next trip
home or winter vacation. Amtrak offers service to hundreds of
cities nationwide with fares comparable to car travel and the
price of gas.
Train travel in my experience has
usually been very pleasant. Besides the occasional delay and
frequent stopping, trains travel efficiently and safely.
Amtrak and Greyhound both accept
the Student Advantage Discount Card and offer savings of 10-15%
on all travel.
Traveling back and forth from
school can be a stressful time for everyone. With proper
preparation and planning, you can find a simple, inexpensive way
to travel. Since many of us are procrastinators, certain
businesses cater to our needs. Look around and negotiate every
aspect of your trip. You just may find that needle in the
haystack.
Southwest Airlines (800)
435-9792
Amtrak (800)
872-7245
AirTran (800)
247-8726
Student Advantage Discount Card
(877) 256-4672 |
