If you're not careful, some of the money you save on the great travel bargains we write about can be lost when you park your car at the airport, gouged from you by greedy parking lot owners who know you don't want to lug your bags for a mile or more to begin your vacation. We've scoured around for some prices on parking that will help you save even more before you leave the ground.
Browsing through LongTermParking.com, you can find parking from as little as $9.99 a day at New York's JFK Airport, $6.95 at Philadelphia International, $7.95 at Chicago's O'Hare or $8 at Honolulu International. The site assembles long term parking sites available at or near 47 US airports, and you can reserve online for free. Parking at LAX's long term lot can run as much as $30 a day; LongTermParking.com offers indoor parking for as little as $10.91 a day, plus a free day with a two-day minimum stay. You don't have to be a math wiz to spot the obvious savings here. Please note that prices do not include taxes, however, which vary by destination.
The company asserts that its locations are safe and secure, and there is free shuttle service to the airports in most cases. Some locations also offer free baggage assistance, free valet service, indoor parking, a warm car (ice or snow cleared if found on it), a car wash (free at some sites) and oil change. When you click on the airport of you choice, you get a coupon that can be printed and presented later to the lot, a list of services, driving directions and a map.
Some airports even have a Park, Sleep & Fly option for travelers with early morning departures. At Detroit Metro, for example, the Comfort Inn offers eight days of free parking included in the nightly room rate of $69.96 for up to four persons. For more information and reservations, visit www.longtermparking.com. They have a subsection for discount parking in the United Kingdom as at www.longtermparking.com/uk.
The Parking Spot
A competitor, The Parking Spot, has only 11 locations in six US cities, but may serve if the other systems don't meet your needs. For Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles and St. Louis, consider checking them out. We found daily rates at Los Angeles/LAX/Century $14.95 per day for valet parking, $13.95 for covered parking and $10.95 for open-air parking, the latter virtually the same as for Long Term Parking. A tax of 10% is not included in this rate. They give you a free USA Today newspaper at check-in (while supplies last), free bottled water when you pick up, a shuttle service, and assistance with luggage are among other benefits. Their website is www.theparkingspot.com.
Airport Parking Reservations
A third company, Airport Parking Reservations, says it has arrangements at "more than 50" lots in the North America and the UK (we counted 80 lots, with 62 in the US, two in Canada and 16 in the UK).. Their rates at more than 12 locations near the Los Angeles (LAX) Airport start as low as $11.90, which they say is actually $7.90 for the parking and a $4 mandatory service charge. This is just about $1 more than the two firms mentioned previously. Their site for these LAX locations do not show any difference in cost between valet and self-park facilities. Noted on the site are distances from the airport (a sample: "2 blocks east side of airport") and the name of the lot (sample "Johnny Park Outdoor Parking"). Other LAX locations on the APR website cost as much as $13 a day. You'll find these people at www.airportparkingreservations.com.
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