Scheduling Flights

[biogirl2003]

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I just finished booking 2 flights for residency interviews and wanted to vent...

I have to fly at holiday fare prices, with little to no flexibility on times. I think I need to go to financial aid to cover my next credit card bill.... I just paid $260 for a one-way flight. It hurt inside to push the purchase button.

Anyone else going through the same thing?

 

[iwakuni_doc]

Don't get me started on airfare - I'm looking at $800-1000 just to get myself a round-trip back to the US, and then I have to buy tickets for flying from program to program.

This is gonna hurt...a lot.

 

[GeddyLee]

YEah...I just dropped 500 bucks on a flight too. what a pain! Has anyone found an airline with student discounts? I sure haven't...unless you're under 22.

 

[pez]

I thought that there were "residency vouchers" available. I guess given the state of the airline industry, they probably don't do that anymore.

 

[blotto geltaco]

try studentuniverse.com

 

[mcwmark]

AMSA has a 5% off the lowest fare for residency applicants on American Airlines, but you have to call a special number, given to you by your school. In the interest of preventing abuse, I won't post the number, but you can talk to your school's AMSA chapter who should know this information.

In addition, for "college" students, American Airlines has a code for 10% fares which occasionally works. The savvy person can find this on the net...

Otherwise, if you're really cheap, you can call the customer service agents at airlines, who often have coupons to give to customers. United will regularly give $25/50 off coupons, and Continental has a 50/75/100 off coupon.

 

[prwunecom]

priceline.com

I actually got some good deals by bidding what seemed like ridiculously low prices. I got a message prior to finalizing my bid that I should bid higher, but I chose not to, and I still got the price I bid.

 

[prwunecom]

www.cheaptrips.com

You have to pay like $30 for a year suscription to this service, but they have really good last minute fares as well as offering you the ability to search several discount travel sites at once for the lowest fares.

 

[account90]

Originally posted by biogirl2003

I have to fly at holiday fare prices, with little to no flexibility on times. I think I need to go to financial aid to cover my next credit card bill.... I just paid $260 for a one-way flight. It hurt inside to push the purchase button.

Round-trip tickets are almost ALWAYS less expensive than one-way tickets. Next time, book it round trip and just don't show up for the return flight.

 

[Da Vinci2]

travelocity.com
cheaptickets.com
expedia.com
priceline.com

 

[ckyuen]

also hotwire.com
bestfares.com
orbitz.com

priceline is great for hotels

 

[gimmedog]

I had great luck with sta.com for student fares. You have to buy a stupid $22 card with your first ticket, but for a last minute fare I paid $350 there vs. >$1200 I found everywhere (and I mean everywhere) else I looked.

I'm not ready to use priceline or hotwire at this point, as more interviews may come and plans may change. They are strict about no changes or refunds, so beware.

travelocity best fare finder is usually where I start to get an idea of what's out there, but not all airlines are represented--SWA jet blue...

 

[GahNoc]

i've been using travelaxe program to do searches of all the websites at once

 

[frog4brooke]

Sorry if this is the same as something previously posted, but I don't think it is:

Dear GSA,
The AAMC has renewed an agreement with American Airlines to offer discounts for senior medical students traveling to interviews for residency programs._ Although we distributed promotional cards to each medical school in the past, we have discontinued the use of promotional cards therefore we will no longer be sending them._ Updated Information concerning the discount is available on the OSR website at http://www.aamc.org/members/osr/discounts.htm

Valid travel dates are between October 1, 2003 - May 31, 2004.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 202/828-0681 or [email protected]._ Thank you.
* Denine Hales




The Group on Student Affairs (GSA) is a professional development group sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

 

[doc_strange2001]

Im driving X country. And planning to save myself a load of cash and see the country too

 

[Pravda]

You could try STA travel at ww.statravel.com. As long as you're a registered student in a degree granting program, or under 26, you qualify for their student rates which are pretty decent. I have used them for international travel, but it might not hurt to look at their domestic stuffs. You could also try council travel as well. Wish I was in your situation btw, no interviews yet for me! Good luck!

 

[Kiki2004]

I know not many people like Southwest Airlines b/c of too many stopovers, takes to long, etc, but I think it's absolutely convenient. They have Rapid Rewards, where if you buy 8 roundtrip tickets you get a free roundtrip ticket anywhere they fly...and the best part of it is if you book it online you only need to purchase 4 roundtrips before you get the free one (double credit). The great part is there's no restrictions on where you are flying during those 4 roundtrips. You could fly from los angeles to vegas or oakland 4 times and receive a free roundtrip ticket to fly to new york, florida, chicago, new orleans, the list goes on...SWA pretty much flies to a lot of places, it's cheap, convenient...

 

[iwakuni_doc]

Finally broke down & shelled out $940 to get back for 3 weeks, then it's off to the world of rental car road trips up & down the east coast. Yeah!!