How We Saved Money on Travel to Scc - Scc chronicles 1

My flight from Washington arrives in Atlanta bright and early, SCC here I come, my fifth year in a row. I quickly met up with my buddies Denise and Sylvia, whom I both met at conferences years ago in other cities. As many of you know, Sylvia and I often travel to the conferences together And with so much long distance travel between us, we're often asked how we deal with the costs? But the truth is that Sylvia and I are aggressive bargain hunters, and we've gotten it down to a science. We call them "Sunny's specials." Sunny special number one: use your points and miles! That early morning AirTran flight I arrived on was heavily discounted. I didn't have enough Southwest miles for a free roundtrip, but I did have enough to bring the total cost down to 130 dollars. Because I have video equipment that is too bulky to carry onto the plane, I also saved $50 on checked bag fees, since Southwest does not charge those fees. In the past, I've always flown Delta to SCC, and I've had to pay these expensive bag fees. So yay Southwest for getting rid of them at AirTran. Sunny special number two -- try shopping for your ticket on a Tuesday or Wednesday, since airline websites normally lower prices during the week, and raise them on the weekends. As many of you know, I fly both international and domestic, and I've sometimes seen prices drop by hundreds of dollars, just by waiting for a weekday until purchasing. Let's now look at the hotel, which can easily cost as much as airfare. Sylvia books early and gets the conference rate. 109 dollars per night just steps away from the conference. That's clearly competitive. But I stay at a nearby off-site hotel, the new and trendy Le Meridien. you may recall that it's the same brand I use when staying at Trans-Health in Philadelphia. Le Meridien Atlanta Perimeter is a pleasant 15-minute walk to SCC, but Brandon or one of the other hotel drivers will also shuttle you to SCC, upon request. I can use my Starwoods points to get free rooms or a  discounted room, using a mix of points and cash. I chose the mix and my stay at Le Meridien came to 55 dollars a night. If you're willing to shuttle or walk, you may find competitive rates at other nearby hotels. Being from the U.S. state of Michigan, Sylvia absolutely loves enormous, Detroit-made cars. Here she is back at home, driving her beautiful and beloved Cadillac SRS. But I've slowly persuaded Sylvia to consider public transportation when practical. She's been a very fast learner. Here on SEPTA at Trans-Health in Philadelphia on COTA at TransOhio in Columbus and now MARTA at SCC in Atlanta. A big transformation for a suburban girl from the world's car capital. And it's saved us hundreds of dollars in taxi fares, car rentals and parking fees, not to mention greenhouse gases. Marta to SCC is 2-dollars, while a taxi is 62 dollars. That's a round-trip saving of 120 dollars. Public transit, when practical, is Sunny special number three. To view our video tutorial on using Marta to SCC, just click here. If you live in the Southeast like our beautiful sister Denise, consider taking Megabus to SCC. Fares between her hometown of Orlando and the Megabus stop in Atlanta are as low as 19 dollars each way. Registration is where Sylvia and I prefer to sacrifice the most. For the full package, it's 315 dollars, IF you buy many months in advance. But that's not a good option for me, because of fear of cancellation penalties. So I'm looking at an onsite registration for the full conference at a whopping 365 dollars. No worries, because Sylvia and I prefer to pay the "seminar only" rate, which gives us access to all the fantastic seminars, but we arrange our meals and our outings on our own. This works really well for us. Yes, 10th and Piedmont The seminar only rate is 135 dollars, saving us 230 dollars each. Because so many trans people face employment discrimination, cost is a big factor for many when considering SCC. The stories are quite frankly heartbreaking. SCC and other conferences sometimes offer scholarships and sometimes discounts, if you volunteer. Always check the conference websites for details on this. And don't be afraid to send an email, requesting more info. The websites sometimes have info on rideshare and roomshare, and that can save you big bucks as well. Worth mentioning that Philly Trans-Health, now the world's largest trans conference, has NO conference fee. So, let's review the Sunny specials: Saved 50 dollars on air baggage fees saved 120 dollars on ground transportation Saved 54 dollars each night on hotel Saved 230 dollars on on-site registration So altogether, my SCC trip cost me 430 dollars for air and ground transportation, registration and three nights of lodging. But it would've cost almost nearly 1200 dollars without the Sunny specials, meaning I shaved 770 dollars off the cost of this year's SCC trip. What about meals? You ask. Because they don't come with the seminar only registration. Sylvia and I eat at the nearby Perimeter Mall and we love it! It's right across the street from SCC One of largest malls in the Southeast, it has a wide selection of restaurants at diverse price ranges. Sylvia and I like the yummy, easy choices at Nordstrom Cafe. Nice variety and with a nice price. And fantastic service as well. I was running late and Nordstrom Cafe was about to close. Sylvia was already there, explsined it to the staff, and they offered to stay open for me! No kidding! True to their word, they let me walk right in when I showed up at the door after closing time. And there''s more. They gave us free cupcakes as well. I chose red velvet -- my favorite There's also great shopping to be had at Perimeter Mall. Since I've already saved nearly 800 dollars, that's more than enough to splurge on a few pair of funky and clunky glasses. Traveling is great when it's cheap, but it's also supposed to be fun and carefree. I feel like a sexy librarian! I'd check out a book from you. Did you hear what the sales guy Matt said? That he'd definitely check out a book from me? Well I definitely bought several pairs of glasses from him. And I'm very happy. Do you like? Moving on now. Another really cool thing about Southwest, no change fees. Because my ticket price dropped by 40 dollars a week after I bought it, Southwest gave me a $40 credit to use on another AirTran or Southwest flight. You DO have to request this credit, but Southwest is the only major U.S. airline I know of that will give you this credit without a change penalty. Also crucial, good planning. Sylvia and I already have all our potential 2014 conferences mapped out. Sylvia is intrigued by Keystone because it' s small and cozy. I'm pushing for Sparkle UK, because I love Britain and this would be our first international conference. It's also Sparkle UK's 10th anniversary So you are now ready to travel. Sylvia and I are delighted to share our secrets, so if you have any questions, just post them in comments, and we'll get right back to you. Please consider subscribing by clicking on the red "subscribe" button. You'll be notified by email when we post future videos. At trusunlight, we consider our subscribers family members, so feel free to join the family. We'd love to have you. I'm Sunny Bee, thanks for watching and thanks for your continued support