Does anybody have any tips on scheduling interviews and buying plane tickets?

[aegistitan]

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I live in the midwest and need to fly to other states for many of the schools I applied to.

Was wondering if anyone had any tips.

For example, is it always best to fly in the night before the interview? I'm worried that if I get a flight the night before it may get cancelled and I may miss the interview. Is there any recovering from something like that?

 

[candbgirl]

When were you thinking of flying if not the night (day)before?


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[LizzyM]

Try to avoid booking yourself on the last flight of the day. If your flight is cancelled, the airline will try to get you on a later flight if there is one. Arriving at your destination after 7 pm local time means you may miss the rush hour traffic near the airport. Many schools offer the opportunity to stay with a student host and that can help you save money and get the inside scoop on the school.

It has been said that buying tickets on Tuesdays gets you the best prices. That has worked out for me.

If you are running late and you will be cutting it close to make a connection, alert the flight attendant. Sometimes they will let you have priority in exiting the aircraft.

If on the trip home, you have the opportunity to get bumped for a later flight, consider it. You can get a nice certificate good for future travel.

Be super-nice to the gate agents... they have a tremendous power be able to help you.

 

[DrChef94]

Going off of @LizzyM's tips on flying - download the Hopper app if you want to save money. It's a fare predictor and can tell you when to book your tickets and when to fly for the cheapest fare possible, and how much your fare would be expected to increase if you booked 1 week later, 2 weeks later, etc.

 

[candbgirl]

Watch for airfare sales! Sometimes you can get amazing fares. Yesterday, my sister got RT ATL-MDW for $77. That's right $77. I had booked the reverse earlier in the week and paid $278. LizzyM is right about Tuesday's.. Midweek and mid day are sometime cheaper too. If you book the last flight of the day and it's cancelled you have limited options for a rebook that would get you to the school on time.


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[ChrisMack390]

Be super-nice to the gate agents... they have a tremendous power be able to help you.

This is key. Those people are Gods. They can do literally anything for you - free upgrades, switch you to a flight on another airline if necessary, all kinds of vouchers and coupons, etc.

 

[URHere]

In addition to what has already been said above:

1) Try to avoid connections in cities that are notorious for cancelled flights (JFK, I'm looking at you).
2) Layovers that are 1 hour or less are risky. Avoid them if you can.
3) Pick seats close to the front of the plane if you have a tight connection.
4) It is sometimes worth flying out of a larger airport, even if it means some extra driving time upfront. They often have more back-up options for you if a flight gets delayed or cancelled, and flights can be A LOT cheaper.
5) If you are going to be flying a lot, consider an airline credit card. You can eventually earn free flights with the points and airlines are more likely to help you reschedule things last minute if you are a loyalty customer.

 

[candbgirl]

Another idea we have found as a family sometimes fare can be cheaper if you'll drive a bit. For instance we wanted to go to
BWI and the fares were really high from both Chicago airports so we went to Milwaukee. Saved a bunch.


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[HughBlackfyre]

In addition to what has already been said above:
5) If you are going to be flying a lot, consider an airline credit card. You can eventually earn free flights with the points and airlines are more likely to help you reschedule things last minute if you are a loyalty customer.

To add to this: I actually signed up for an airline credit card to pay all of my secondary fees. Had a sign up bonus of 40k miles (supposedly 2 round trip domestic flights, I don't know exactly never used air miles before) if you spend $1,000 within 3 months, which you could easily hit with secondaries.