Travel Tips For An Out-Of-State Student

Traveling home for the holidays or simply a weekend is especially difficult for students whose families live out-of-state. With short breaks and even shorter weekends, many students report careful planning to utilize their time at home best.

Between airplanes, trains, Ubers and car rides, traveling can be both tiring and time-consuming.

Lila Roy, a freshman nursing major from Massachusetts, believes she has a good tip for successful traveling. She says you should “Fly Jetblue and get the Jetblue credit card.” She warns students to pay off the card right away right away, “So you don’t acquire debt, but you rack up points and get tickets for very cheap.”

Kylee Wallentine, a freshman business major from Kansas, has a different approach. She says, “I always fly with Southwest because they have good prices and you can collect rapid reward points to get flights for free.”

Wallentine also says it’s good to plan ahead. She asserts that plans can change, so she appreciates that Southwest allows “you to change your flights or cancel free of charge.”

Wallentine suggests a tip at the airport and says you should “pay the little bit for TSA pre-check so you can skip the security line.”

It is clear that your choice of airline depends on your destination; however, many students urge careful planning to find the best deal. Credit cards appear to be wildly popular to earn points for airfare. Roy suggests you “use it for things you would be paying for anyways,” so you are not losing any money through the use of a credit card.

Some students whose families live nearby also have good strategies for getting home efficiently. Claire Jackson, a freshman business major from La Verne, reports taking a bus home after discovering her train trip was canceled hours before boarding. “I wasn’t sure what to expect during the bus ride, but it wasn’t too bad, and I made it home in one piece.” Jackson says her best tip is to “plan out the entire trip so that you can stay home as long as possible without getting back to campus too late.”

As Christmas break approaches, out-of-state students are purchasing plane tickets and looking for the best deals available. “I can’t wait to spend time with people I love and celebrate Christmas with those I miss so much,” Jackson says.