Yellowstone in May, Scored FREE Exit Row Seats on United

[OTF]

For what it's worth I've used Turo a few times and had great experiences with it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The cheapest I see on Hotels.com for Key Largo is $185/night. I used to go there now and then, but it's been several years. Kayak has Marina Del Mar Resort And Marina for $140/night. I used to stay at an odd place with a variety of rooms and travel trailers. I think it was called the Pelican or something. It's probably gone by now. I think they improved the hiway from Miami and ran all costs up.

Sad. Quick Google search, but I had difficulty finding any of the old mom-and-pop motels. Largo Lodge--a true moldy oldie--apparently got a huge renovation a few years ago and is now pricey. An outdated listing: Largo Lodge Motel - Mom and Pop Motels. I got a kick out of the old-time Keys vibe. The quirkiness of the Keys was one of the few reasons I might dive there rather than, say, Jupiter. I know the Keys wrecks are a big attraction for some--not me.

Is this thread about Yellowstone? Er, sorry. Have a great trip, and enjoy that exit row seat.

 

[DandyDon]

For what it's worth I've used Turo a few times and had great experiences with it.

Good to hear. I guess it just depends on the host. I'm holding my $500+ Budget rental for backup, but the $300 deal is appealing even if he charges me $20 extra for cleaning. I see that Budget's current offers are up to %700+ like the other agencies. I had hoped for a drop into the $400 range, but not looking likely. Dang, I miss the $20/day car rentals.

 

[OTF]

Turo can definitely be cheaper than other rentals, and it is a legit service. I used it fairly early-on which seemed sketchy going in, but it went fine and the company has been around for a while now. The real benefit of Turo is the ability to get unusual fun cars. I daily drive a very boring minivan so on trips its fun roll around in a ragtop jeep, tesla, muscle car or whatever for only a tiny bit more than a standard car airport rental would cost. The downside is availability, there are more options in bigger cities. And I think you have to return Turo cars where you picked them up unlike big rental companies which let you drop the car at any company location.

Now if only someone could solve the problems that make "turo/airbnb for boats" so difficult...

 

[admikar]

Exit row seats can lack some features like folding table in front of you and nowhere to put your bag carry on under. But I do like legroom.
Can't wait to read a report.

 

[DandyDon]

nowhere to put your bag carry on under

Well, these are all commuter jets with three or four seats to a row, so all roll-ons will be gate-checked. I'm just going for four nights so won't bother taking my huge laptop bag, just a small backpack with meds, camera, chargers, and other essentials so it will fit the tiny overhead bin. Most of my stuff will be in my checked bag, checked free because I bought the ticket with my United card.

Of the four flights, very few seats have been selected this far in advance, only mine on a couple of legs. On the leg into Cody a few have been, including all of the exit row seats and one row behind. I am guessing it's a group who wanted to stay together, grabbed the exit seats and paid for a few behind one row of those.

Can't wait to read a report.

Oh, I can write one when I get back I suppose, and include a link to an online photo album. Yellowstone is certainly a special place, our first national park I think. Some of the boiling springs and geysers have been harmed by vandals throwing debris over the years, and some of the long-dormant hot springs have been known to explode at times, and there were a number of tourists killed in the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake - Wikipedia, but mostly it's a safe land of amazement. I greatly enjoyed the little Dragon's Mouth Spring that I'll revisit the first day, the Mammoth Spring Terraces of mineral mounds, and so forth. Old Faithful has dialed back from one eruption an hour to once every other hour, but I'm sleeping near it so will see it often as I come and go.

 

[DandyDon]

I found roundtrip fares to Cody (60 miles from Yellowstone Lake) of $322. They went up $100 after I bought, but I got mine!

And just like that, the same ticket is $261. Oh well, I still have a nice plan. There are rooms available in various properties @ $159 & up near the park, or a couple of upscale hotels inside the park @ $449 & up.

 

[DandyDon]

United airline keeps changing my flights, of course. Not horribly tho, still the same dates and general times. I had been concerned about rushing back to Cody for the 1:21pm flight anyway, so opting for the 3:35pm departure will keep me from having to rush as much. My first 3 hours layover is down to 2½ hours, still plenty for a clubroom visit as well as a safety again delayed arrivals. My second 3 hours layover has been cut to 1½ hours, not much wiggle room in case of a delay arrival, but I'll probably make it. Hope the clubroom is close to my departure gate.

On the first change I lost an exit row seat, but on the second change gained exit row seats on two flights, so for now - all four. I like that. They're more than halfway back, but on a 13-row plane, I don't expect big delays waiting on slow people to get off before me.

 

[DandyDon]

I started this thread to brag about scoring exit row seats for free on a Basic Economy ticket that otherwise doesn't allow for free seat selections. Indeed, I thought that exit row seats usually cost extra and am curious about the experiences of others?

On the first change I lost an exit row seat, but on the second change gained exit row seats on two flights, so for now - all four. I like that. They're more than halfway back, but on a 13-row plane, I don't expect big delays waiting on slow people to get off before me.

I was also pretty happy about the cheap airfare...

I found roundtrip fares to Cody (60 miles from Yellowstone Lake) of $322.

I check on my tickets now and then after purchase as I expect the airlines to change whatever they can get away with and maybe not even send me an email.

And just like that, the same ticket is $261.

Well, I was still happy with my plan as I had to put it together fast before those last three cabin nights might get booked by someone else. I had to change my return flights, but I was happy with the change. And now, my same flights are selling for $857! Wow! A cheaper itinerary is available for $753 arriving an hour later. I'm glad that I am holding what I have. A few of the seats have since sold, but I don't see a big rush. I guess that the fare experts have their reasons for tripling fares. I feared that time change might force adjustments, but the times look the same.

In other news, I got my bad leg repaired with three stints and some balloons so I can hobble around the sites better. The other leg is due for an angioplasty on March 30 so maybe it'll be in better shape as well. I guess I can start back at the gym by mid April and try to improve some muscles, and I get another knee shoot in May so my legs should be in the best shape in several years.

 

[Hoag]

I started this thread to brag about scoring exit row seats for free on a Basic Economy ticket that otherwise doesn't allow for free seat selections. Indeed, I thought that exit row seats usually cost extra and am curious about the experiences of others?

I was also pretty happy about the cheap airfare...

I check on my tickets now and then after purchase as I expect the airlines to change whatever they can get away with and maybe not even send me an email.

Well, I was still happy with my plan as I had to put it together fast before those last three cabin nights might get booked by someone else. I had to change my return flights, but I was happy with the change. And now, my same flights are selling for $857! Wow! A cheaper itinerary is available for $753 arriving an hour later. I'm glad that I am holding what I have. A few of the seats have since sold, but I don't see a big rush. I guess that the fare experts have their reasons for tripling fares. I feared that time change might force adjustments, but the times look the same.

In other news, I got my bad leg repaired with three stints and some balloons so I can hobble around the sites better. The other leg is due for an angioplasty on March 30 so maybe it'll be in better shape as well. I guess I can start back at the gym by mid April and try to improve some muscles, and I get another knee shoot in May so my legs should be in the best shape in several years.

First and foremost, good to read that you got your"bad leg repaired" and that by the time of your trip your "legs should be in the best shape in several years". That is great news!

Now, about the flight costs. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, some of the increases in the costs of flights can be mitigated if not eliminated by private browsing. Most Internet Browsers have some form of private browsing. This will delete any "cookies" that a website installs when you leave the website. (It does not allow you to surf anonymously. Your best bet for that is a VPN but that is a whole other discussion.) By surfing privately and deleting the cookies, it gives the (airline, hotel, car rental site etc) the impression that you have never been there before, since there are no cookies to tell it otherwise. If it detects cookies, it "sees" that you may be interested in a flight from Point A to Point B (as an example) by repeatedly checking the rates for that flight on specific dates, then the rates will tend to gradually increase for that flight.

There are a number of factors that go into determining the fare for a flight. By using Private Viewing, you eliminate the simple act of checking the fares as a variable in that calculation.