Here are some ballpark chaser trips to consider when going on a lengthy trip.
CAR RENTALS:
The best way to ensure that you have money left available on your credit card, (keeping in mind that most rental places take a $200 minimum deposit), is to bid on your car through www.priceline .com. There is a feature where you can bid on your car rental for specific airport locations called ‘BID NOW.” You can offer a price that you have to pay immediately but in most cases you will find a serious discount. I have often bid 40% of the average car rental per airport price and had the offer go through. Anyways, 80% of the time your winning bid will come back to rent from ALAMO/NATIONAL.
ALAMO/NATIONAL is the best car rental place by far in the United States. Not only do they have exceptional customer service-----they also do not charge your credit card for any $ amount more than the price of your rental. Do yourself a favor and also sign up for “THE EMERALD CLUB REWARS PROGRAM” from National. They have airport bypass the counter options that enable you to USE self serving kiosks that do not require you to stand in line in the car centers-rather pick your class of car and proceed to the exit. Other car rental place deposit charge—if you are going on a 4 city trip you can have up to $800-1000 dollars locked up in these deposits-this is harmful in you enjoying your trip. Not all of us have the affordability to have so much money unavailable. An average of 5-8 days is what it will take for the credit to be restored when your car rental is completed.
Priceline is also fantastic for hotel rentals where you can use the same option to bid for your price of hotel. Honestly, when we are all in the middle of a big road trip the last thing we want is too spend excessive amounts of money on a hotel we are not going to use other than a quick sleep and shower. Again by bidding on the hotel, and paying for it right away you can ensure on a more of a budget. Even if the front desks take a small deposit at time of check in—these transactions are quickly released when you check out. The best way again is too low-ball your first few offers and gradually increase your bid. Now Priceline does make you alter your bid for every declined request you submit, so the key is to not act aggressive. After 24 hours, you can re-open up all columns to bid again with an increased offer from your first one. Just chart your offers to slightly increase your amount until you have success.
I would not suggest you use PRICELINE for airline flights because the winning bid will usually feature stop-over’s and times that are not conducive to arriving in time for a baseball game.
HOTELS
For those economy travelers such as myself, I implore you to use MOTEL 6 and/or SUPER 8 as hotel chains to stay throughout the USA. They are decent hotels for the $value you pay. The best feature about these hotels is the ability to check in by 11am-12pm. Most 3-5 star hotels have check in times that start and 3 or 4pm. Again if you are flying or driving in from some other place do you really want to drive around for 3-4 hours sight-seeing because you are simply waiting for a check in time. Plus with these places cash is preferred and they do not require a deposit on your credit card.
If you are staying in the same city or have sufficient time to stay in one hotel I would recommend you use PRICELINE to bid on your hotels. You can save up to 50% off with winning bids on 2-5 star hotels. Keep in mind that most of those hotels can save you money with their “FREE CONTINENTAL BREAKFASTS”.
LUGGAGE/STADIUM ISSUES
Travelling to other cities with luggage is hard to finagle sometimes. When arriving in a new city there may be time constraints or monetary issues that make you think about your luggage. Before you make any purchases for your trip you must be cognizant of where your luggage will be at all times throughout the trip. You will not be allowed to bring your suitcase through security at the ball park. Most cities will not even allow you to bring a briefcase into the games. So therein is a dilemma. If you are able to make it to your hotel before the game then your luggage will be okay-the same can be said if you have rented a car. The toughest games for luggage management are day games when arriving from other cities. For the EASTERN SEABOARD there is an ally you can use—it is called “AMTRAK.”
AMTRAK is a great way to see a bunch of baseball games, particularly in New York-Baltimore-Washington-Philadelphia-Chicago-Milwaukee. Not only will you save gas/traffic scenarios-but AMTRAK has a baggage check option at most stations for $3-4 dollars an item per day. All you have to do is have an itinerary, (coming or going) and you can check your luggage items. You will have to monitor the hours of operation for these places-however this option is exceptional when attending matinee games in any of these cities. New York’s AMTRAK STATION-( Penn Station),” is a life saver when you can drop off your luggage and avoid renting a car. “GREYHOUND” is also a good alternative for this in the cities of Tampa Bay-Miami-Los Angeles-San Diego-Minnesota-Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
FLIGHTS
Early morning flights are usually the cheapest airfare. I always use www.kayak.com . If you are flying to cities like Cincinnati-Milwaukee-Detroit-Houston-Atlanta-or Dallas you may be shocked at how much they charge for flights. This is a way to get back at those airlines. I have done the following several times. Since these are hubs for other cities I would check flights from your starting departure and use your intended city of these listed above as a stop-over and then you can walk off the plane during the stop-over if it is cheaper----and providing you are traveling without checked baggage---example.
LAST YEAR I had to fly from Pittsburgh to Detroit for a double header attempt for the record. I needed a Pittsburgh Northwest Airlines flight direct to Detroit at 5:10 that arrived in Detroit at 6:28—it was the only non-stop flight that I could get that we give me a chance to make the game on time. When the price came back I was upset to see that the price was $500—I went to work. I came up with a flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago-with the 1st leg of the trip being my flight that arrived in Detroit at 6:28 as the stopover—the price for this flight was $130. There are many instances of this. I will explain more in the book how I used this scenario for a flexible schedule in case of make-up games.
AIRLINES BEST TO FLY WITH
AIRTRAN-They only charge $75 in case you have to change your flight and if you should miss your flight they let you fly stand-by for the rest of the day on any remaining flights to your city of destination for that same calendar day.
I will preview a game plan on all 30 cities to take a look at all facets of travel-that will include money saving-and time saving tips. After all, we all want to see as many games in the least amount
of days-for the least amount of money right?

CB