Here's Some Tips for Planning A Trip To A Swing State

[displacedyankeedem]

I don't know how much use this will be, but I'll throw all of this up anyways.

So, you live in the Republican Mordor, eh (or a SOLID blue state)? But you still have a burning desire to get rid of Shrub, while at the same time racking up some frequent flyer miles? Need a working vacation to a swing state like FL, NM, AZ, NC or NV to get away from the wretched weather? Good. If you're willing, I'll share with you few tips for getting to the frontlines of the battle, focusing particularly on airfare tips.

GETTING THERE

1)Stick within the low fare air system

The big ones are Southwest, JetBlue, ATA, Spirit, Frontier, AirTran, and Independence Air. This doesn't necessarily mean that you'll actually fly on these airlines, because the big carriers (United, US Airways, Continental, Northwest, and Delta) will generally match. So if you seek miles as a reward for your sacrifice, there's a good chance you'll get them.

Here's the route maps for those of you who are thinking about it

AirTran: http://www.airtran.com/destinations/routemap/index.jsp
ATA: http://www.ata.com/reservations/routemap.html
Frontier: http://www.frontierairlines.com/booknow/routemap.html
Independence: http://www.flyi.com/too-routemap.htm
JetBlue: http://www.jetblue.com/travelinfo/routemap.html
Southwest: http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap.html
Spirit: http://www.spiritairlines.com/welcome.aspx?pg=routemap

2)Think all of those ValPak coupons are worthless? Think again.

If you look in these, often, Northwest Airlines will put in something called a PD935 Zone Certificate, which offers discounted airfare anywhere in America. They require a 7 day advance purchase, which is pretty good in thae airline world, and there's only one blackout date between now and the election (Sept 6). If you use one of these certs, coast to coast is a MAXIMUM of $288(a steal).

3)Only Got A Weekend? No problem.

Another steal is the weekend e-fares program, which almost every major carrier puts out. American even does them two weeks in advance, so there's some planning time. Most of them run between $79-$300 tops.

Here's a link to a fully searchable database of these fares

http://www.smarterliving.com/air/search/

4)Nothing Here Applies To Me! Relax.

September, October, and November are the death valley months for airlines. You'll be amazed how cheaply things will go for, especially this year as several carriers will sell their souls to avoid bankruptcy.

5)But I'm A Canadian! Nothing here helps me!

I'm not letting you guys off that easy. Soon, WestJet Airlines will begin service to Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Phoenix. Tickets are available at http://www.westjet.ca . Air Canada's Tango fares available at http://www.aircanada.ca are often very reasonable for travel.

In addition, if you live in some cities, there are close in US airports you can use to get around.

Montreal: Burlington, VT
Toronto/Hamilton: Buffalo, NY
Windsor: Detroit, MI
Vancouver: Seattle, WA

-------------------------------------

Now that I'm There, Who Do I hook up with to help?

Sorry that I don't know as much about this as I probably should.

1)Nationally

Swing the State: http://www.swingthestate.org/

2)By State
AZ (Turn AZ Blue): http://www.turnazblue.com

I'm sure that there's more organizations out there, but I don't know them, so I hope this can be a start for most people. Post links to other organizations if you can

[displacedyankeedem]

1. Round II Specific Advice

Forgot to add, if anyone needs specific help planning a trip, ask me and I'll see what I can do.