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so, OUCH! all sorts of traveling to do this year. any recommendations? i've been looking at amtrak for between cities, some places provide hotels, some don't. i dunno. any hints would be appreciated.
traveling expenses?
- Thread starter m1234d
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i don't think there are any shortcuts, aside from clustering interviews, staying on couches, using public transit when possible, etc.
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you could try myinterviewtrail.com. You track and upload your interview/travel schedule and in some cases, could find people to split costs with for travel etc.
Our school has an alumni program that lets us stay with alumni in the areas of our interviews. That way you don't have to spend $ on a hotel the night before...they may even be nice enough to pick you up from the airport. At the very least, check and see if they maintain a list of your school's graduates, if any are in the area and if you can contact them to see if they'd be willing to host you.
Some schools offer an interest-free loan for travel/interview related expenses (specifically for this purpose).
Frequent flyer miles are always an option...at least try to consolidate all your travel on one airline so you can rack up the miles. Or some of those credit cards, depending on your financial situation, may be a way to also accumulate miles (assuming you can afford it and pay off your balance, etc. etc. etc.) as some offer various amts of miles for signing up, looking at surveys, trial offers, etc.
Cheaper travel can be found on airlines like Southwest, JetBlue, Ted, AirTran, sometimes Delta. Check out cheaptickets.com or travelzoo.com for a good website offering last minute deals and promotions. I've heard you can get good deals on car rentals from priceline.com. Booking a hotel + flight together (even if you don't use the hotel) can sometimes result in lower fares at the last minute.
That's all I can think of for now....it's not going to be pretty but gearing up for an expensive next three months 🙁
Our school has an alumni program that lets us stay with alumni in the areas of our interviews. That way you don't have to spend $ on a hotel the night before...they may even be nice enough to pick you up from the airport. At the very least, check and see if they maintain a list of your school's graduates, if any are in the area and if you can contact them to see if they'd be willing to host you.
Some schools offer an interest-free loan for travel/interview related expenses (specifically for this purpose).
Frequent flyer miles are always an option...at least try to consolidate all your travel on one airline so you can rack up the miles. Or some of those credit cards, depending on your financial situation, may be a way to also accumulate miles (assuming you can afford it and pay off your balance, etc. etc. etc.) as some offer various amts of miles for signing up, looking at surveys, trial offers, etc.
Cheaper travel can be found on airlines like Southwest, JetBlue, Ted, AirTran, sometimes Delta. Check out cheaptickets.com or travelzoo.com for a good website offering last minute deals and promotions. I've heard you can get good deals on car rentals from priceline.com. Booking a hotel + flight together (even if you don't use the hotel) can sometimes result in lower fares at the last minute.
That's all I can think of for now....it's not going to be pretty but gearing up for an expensive next three months 🙁
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Kayak.com: I think is the best out there.
Also, if you are going to rent a car, which is a must in some places, do it FAR AWAY from airports. You can usually get transportation into the city and then rent in the city far away from airports, which rack up their charges.
Also, if you are going to rent a car, which is a must in some places, do it FAR AWAY from airports. You can usually get transportation into the city and then rent in the city far away from airports, which rack up their charges.
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i'll second the car rental part. renting a car for 4 days in the durham/chapel hill area would have been $250 if i'd gotten it at the airport, but will only be $140 picking it up from an off-site location. i'll spend $30 to get to the off-site renal pickup from the airport, but it's still significant savings.
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Usually most airports will have a shuttle into the city or public transportation. There always is the hotel's shuttle, since you "might" be staying with that particular hotel. Taxis are more expensive but if you find that it is that much cheaper to rent outside the airport, then you can get a cab. I love enterprise because you can use a shuttle or bus to get to a place. Then you call them and they will pick you up.
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The AMA has a website where they will hook you up with free housing in an AMA member's home. I don't know anything about it, but it sounds like a pretty decent way to save money.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12234.html
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12234.html
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Travel sites like priceline.com and orbitz.com can get you much better deals than other sites. Otherwise, stay at friends' places as much as possible, or friends of friends if need be.
