To some American cities--especially hubs dominated by a single airline--airfares are unusually high. To other American cities, airfares are traditionally low. Yet only 50 to 150 miles often separates the expensive from the cheap. By flying to the less costly city, and then driving to the costlier one, travelers can save hundreds andhundreds of dollars in airfares. An example?
Consider the recent plight of a young man named Joey. His high school baseball team in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had won the state championship and was to play in the national tournament in Atlanta in ten days. Mom, Dad, and Mary wanted to go with him, but with less than a 14-day advance purchase, the lowest-priced Wednesday-Monday Sioux Falls-Atlanta round trip at the time of writing was $639.50 per person/$2,558 per family.
Solution: If Joey's family were willing to drive a little, they could save a lot. Birmingham, Alabama, is only 148 freeway miles west of Atlanta, yet airlines flying to Birmingham from Sioux Falls charge a round-trip price of only $379 per person/$1,516 per family. By flying to and from Birmingham, the family could save $1,042.
If someone gave you $1,042, would you drive 148 miles?
Joey's family had another option, that of driving to an alternate city before they flew. Minneapolis-St. Paul is 240 miles northeast of Sioux Falls, with a round-trip price to Atlanta of only $169 per person/$676 per family. By flying from and to Minneapolis-St. Paul, they'd save $1,900.
If someone gave you $1,900, would you drive 240 miles?
Where you live and how much you can save generally determines how far you are willing to drive. I grew up in rural South Dakota and drove 60 miles to a movie and 300 miles to a major city, so driving 240 miles to save $1,900 would be no problem. To some travelers, however, 240 miles is too far to drive, regardless of what they will save. Whatever your preference, at least you have a choice when you are aware of alternate cities.
I have been saving money this way for years and have compiled a "Top 30" listing of the nation's most popular (and therefore most costly to reach) cities, coupled with nearby alternate cities enjoying much lower airfares. All that's needed is an inexpensive car rental taking you from the lower-cost city to the pricey one. Listings includes distance and direction.
Atlanta, GA (ATL)Chattanooga, TN (CHA), 115 mi. NWGreenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSP) 145 mi. NEBirmingham, AL (BHM) 148 mi. W Montgomery, AL (MGM), 160 mi. S
Boston, MA (BOS)Providence, RI (PVD), 50 mi. SWManchester, NH (MHT), 54 mi. N
Charlotte, NC (CLT) Columbia, SC (CAE), 91 mi. S Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSO), 96 mi. SW Southern Pines, NC (SOP), 105 mi. E Florence, SC (FLO), 106 mi. SE Fayetteville, NC (FAY), 139 mi. E
Chicago, IL-O'Hare (ORD)Chicago, IL-Midway (MDW), 22 mi. SE Milwaukee, WI (MKE), 82 mi. N Bloomington/Normal, IL (BMI), 139 mi. SW Champaign/Urbana, IL (CMI), 157 mi. S
Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Dayton, OH (DAY), 44 mi. N Lexington, KY (LEX), 91 mi. S Louisville, KY (SDF), 106 mi. SW
Cleveland, OH (CLE) Canton/Akron, OH (CAK), 58 mi. SYoungstown, OH (YNG), 76 mi. SE
Columbus, OH (CMH) Dayton, OH (DAY), 70 mi. SW Cincinnati, OH (CVG), 111 mi. SW Canton/Akron, OH (CAK), 129 mi. NE
Denver, CO (DEN) Colorado Springs, CO (COS), 70 mi. S
Detroit, MI (DTW) Toledo, OH (TOL), 62 mi. S Flint, MI (FNY), 64 mi. NW Lansing, MI (LAN), 88 mi. NW
Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) Miami, FL (MIA), 27 mi. S West Palm Beach, FL (PBI), 43 mi. N Fort Myers, FL (FMY/RSW), 138 mi. NW Orlando, FL (MCO), 206 mi. NW
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) urbank, CA (BUR), 10 mi. N Long Beach, CA (LGB), 25 mi. S Orange County, CA (SNA), 34 mi. SE Ontario, CA (ONT), 38 mi. NE Santa Barbara, CA (SBA), 96 mi. NW Palm Springs, CA (PSP), 109 mi. SE Bakersfield, CA (BFL), 110 mi. N San Diego, CA (SAN), 124 mi. SE
Louisville, KY (SDF) Lexington, KY (LEX), 79 mi. E Cincinnati, OH (CVG), 106 mi. NE Indianapolis, IN (IND), 112 mi. N Dayton, OH (DAY), 149 mi. NE
Miami, FL (MIA) Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL), 27 mi. N West Palm Beach, FL (PBI), 66 mi. N Fort Myers, Fl (FMY), 152 mi. NW Orlando, FL (MCO), 229 mi. NW
Milwaukee, WI (MKE) Madison, WI (MSN), 77 mi. W Chicago, IL-O'Hare (ORD), 82 mi. S Chicago, IL-Midway (MDW), 96 mi. S Green Bay, WI (GRB), 117 mi. N
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (MSP) Rochester, MN (RST), 85 mi. SE Eau Claire, WI (EAU), 92 mi. E Mason City, IA (MCW), 137 mi. S La Crosse, WI (LSE), 157 mi. SE Duluth, MN (DLH), 167 mi. N Fargo, ND (FAR), 240 mi. NW Sioux Falls, SD (FSD), 240 mi. SW Des Moines, IA (DSM), 246 mi. S
Newark, NJ (EWR) New York, NY-LaGuardia (LGA), 20 mi. E New York, NY-Kennedy (JFK), 22 mi. E White Plains, NY (HPN), 33 mi. NE Trenton, NJ (TTN), 51 mi. SW Newburgh, NY (SWF), 65 mi. N Allentown, PA (ABE), 73 mi. W Philadelphia, PA (PHL), 80 mi. SW Atlantic City, NJ (ACY), 114 mi. S
New Orleans, LA (MYS) Gulfport/Biloxi, MS (GPT), 114 mi. NE Mobile, AL (MOB), 145 mi. NE
New York, NY (JFK) New York, NY-LaGuardia (LGA), 13 mi. N Newark, NJ (EWR), 22 mi. W White Plains, NY (HPN), 24 mi. N Islip, NY (ISP), 37 mi. E Newburgh, NY (SWF), 68 mi. N
New York, NY (LGA) New York, NY-Kennedy (JFK), 13 mi. S White Plains, NY (HPN), 17 mi. N Newark, NJ (EWR), 20 mi. W ip, NY (ISP), 48 mi. E Newburgh, NY (SWF), 56 mi. N
Palm Springs, CA (PSP) Ontario, CA (ONT), 75 mi. W Orange County, CA (SNA), 96 mi. W Long Beach, CA (LGB), 109 mi. W Los Angeles, CA (LAX), 109 mi. NW Burbank, CA (BUR), 115 mi. NW San Diego, CA (SAN), 130 mi. SW
Philadelphia, PA (PHL) Trenton, NJ (TTN), 33 mi. NE Atlantic City, NJ (ACY), 62 mi. SE Allentown, PA (ABE), 66 mi. NW Newark, NJ (EWR), 80 mi. NE Baltimore, MD (BWI), 102 mi. SW
Phoeniz, AZ (PHX) Tucson, AZ (TUS), 118 mi. SE
Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU) Greensboro, NC (GSO), 62 mi. W Southern Pines, NC (SOP), 66 mi. SW Fayetteville, NC (FAY), 75 mi. S
Sacramento, CA (SMF) Oakland, CA (OAK), 78 mi. SW San Francisco, CA (SFO), 86 mi. SW San Jose, CA (SJC), 115 mi. SW Reno, NV (RNO), 131 mi. NE
San Diego, CA (SAN) Orange County, CA (SNA), 92 mi. N Long Beach, CA (LGB), 109 mi. NW Ontario, CA (ONT), 116 mi. N Los Angeles, CA (LAX), 124 mi. NW Palm Springs, CA (PSP), 130 mi. NE Burbank, CA (BUR), 133 mi. N
San Francisco, CA (SFO) Oakland, CA (OAK), 9 mi. E San Jose, CA (SJC), 43 mi. SE Sacramento, CA (SMF), 86 mi. NE
Tampa, FL (TPA) Sarasota, FL (SRQ), 57 mi. SE Orlando, FL (MCO), 84 mi. NE Fort Myers, FL (FMY), 129 mi. SE Daytona Beach, FL (DAB), 140 mi. NE
Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) Reagan National (DCA), 26 mi. E Baltimore, MD (BWI), 56 mi. NE Richmond, VA (RIC), 113 mi. S
Washington, D.C.-Reagan National (DCA) Dulles (IAD), 26 mi. W Baltimore, MD (BWI), 38 mi. NE Richmond, VA (RIC), 108 mi. S