Advice On Parking At An Airport

by JohnEconomy

posted on 02/10/2009

Cost
Make sure you do your research on how much different lots cost at the airport. Smaller airports will typically only have a few lots to choose from and chances are at the smaller airports are the cheaper the lots are going to be. At the larger airports, however, you are going to have multiple options to choose from when it comes to parking. Basically you are going to have to choose between the trade-off of cost vs. ease. Most airports offer parking right next to the terminals or even valet parking, but in most cases you are going to have to pay close to $30/day or more. On the other hand, you can take a shuttle or a train to the terminal from a distance and pay significantly less; sometimes these lots can be as cheap as $2/day. If you are willing to take the extra 10-20 minutes or so to take the train or shuttle to the terminal on each end of the trip, saving the money may be worth it.

Distance from Terminal & Accessibility
As mentioned above, parking lots that are further away from the terminal are going to be significantly cheaper. This is going to make your trip longer, however, for most business travelers the extra time is not going to be worth it, but they typically have their companies reimburse the cost of parking anyway. If you are traveling for a vacation it might make sense to consider how much baggage you have and how many people are coming with you before making your decision. Sometimes if you are traveling with kids, it may be easier to pay the extra money to make the trip shorter as they already are going to be involved in a long trip.

Point Programs
Some "chain" airport parking lots have rewards programs (i.e. The Parking Spot), if you are a frequent traveler and you are constantly parking at the airport it may be worth looking into the different programs available. While most of the programs don't really offer easy access to the terminals, it may be worth the inconvenience to start accruing "parking lot points". Once you have accrued enough points, you can redeem them for free parking at the lot, this can come in very handy when you are going on a personal trip and want to park conveniently for free.

Other Benefits
Some parking lots offer car washes or oil changes while your car is parked at the airport. These are going to be considerably more expensive than they would be at a normal location; however, you are paying for the convenience. If money is not a consideration for you, it may be worth looking into what additional services varying parking lots offer.

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