[ SECRET POST #3135 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3135 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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02.
[Supernatural]


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03.
[Floraverse]

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05.
[Star Trek: The Next Generation]


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08.
[Bryan Cranston: Breaking Bad vs. Malcolm in the Middle]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 045 secrets from Secret Submission Post #448.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0- too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Advice

[(Anonymous)]

Mine in comment

Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

As many of you know, I am taking a trip in March. I've done all my major purchases except for plane tickets.

I was going to buy them this weekend but I've heard tickets drop in price at the end of August. So I thought about waiting and buying them at the end of August. But, I am worried (irrationally?) that they will just RUN OUT OF TICKETS OMG! Is that a thing that can happen?


*These are for a March 3-Mar 13 trip. Right now they are $348 from Wichita to DC roundtrip.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[(Anonymous)]

Ticket prices are higher in August, for flights in August. Flights after the end of August are cheaper flights, but costs still rise as you approach flight date. It is about when the plane flies, not when you book.

The closer you get to the departure date, the more expensive the tickets are until the day before the flight, then they drop. Book as early as possible.

Yes, it is entirely possible your flight might be full if you leave it, and also the more in demand the flight gets, the higher the cost of each ticket will become.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kallanda_lee]

This is truth, listen to it!

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

Ah, okay. Then I am going to wait until the end of the month because I guess airlines slash prices then to get people to travel.

Never mind. D:

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[(Anonymous)]

That's a long time away for plane tickets. Is it a major holiday? If not you're almost certainly fine, at least it would be in my country and I assume the level of supply/demand is similarly calibrated.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

It is not a major holiday at all! That is why we chose it. So, I think we should be fine waiting until the end of August.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[(Anonymous)]

Plane tickets can go on sale anything up to two years in advance. Priced accordingly, cheapest seats go first.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[(Anonymous)]

It honestly depends on a lot of factors, so there's no real way to be 100% sure. They adjust prices up and down depending on how full a flight is at any given time and how full they expect it to be based on past history, and it's not uncommon at all to check today, get one price, check a few days later, have it be lower, and a few days after, and the highest you've seen yet.

THAT SAID, there are three airports that serve the DC area (IAD, DCA, and BWI-- don't let that it's Baltimore fool you for the last one, you can hop the MARC to DC Union Station and back for a couple bucks each way), so check all three because one's bound to be cheaper than the others, usually significantly. And check the carriers that don't go through Priceline/Expedia/etc, like Air Tran/Southwest (who aren't yet booking reservations for March).

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

Right now we have only looked at the airport at the "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport/DCA" because it has the shortest metro ride to our airport (45 minutes). The other two have a metro ride of over an hour (BWI=2 hours and IAD=1 hours and 30 minutes).

I've looked at the various airports to see what all shuttles and such they had but they all run fairly expensive ($50 or so which would remove the savings we would get by booking that airport).

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[(Anonymous)]

Wait, you're planning a trip for NEXT March and thinking you need to buy tickets in August?

I suppose it depends on where you go and if there's a holiday then, but things will almost definitely not be sold out. If you buy them too far in advance, though, they are going to be very expensive. There's a certain "ideal" time to buy tickets where it tends to be the cheapest, and I think it's roughly three months in advance for an international flight. It can really depend though, prices can change in a moment up and down until the flight itself.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

Yes, next March. I mean, $347 seems to be pretty cheap.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[shortysc22]

I think the advice everyone else has given has been pretty good. Also make sure you clear your browser cookies constantly because the airlines scam you that way too, trust me I've run searches on different browsers using the same website and gotten different results.

$348 sounds pretty reasonable to me, but you can definitely mess around with flights. Search via expedia and Southwest, if Southwest flies where you're going.

I've never had a problem with flights running out and I usually book 4-6 months out for flights, so you're super good in that aspect.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

Yeah, my web browser is designed to just get rid of everything.

I want to check SW but they don't have them up for all of March! Just till March 7th.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[(Anonymous)]

Definitely try to search around a bit.

I just ran your dates and places through dohop.com and got $327 per person (connection through Atlanta) with Delta airlines.

Re: Seasoned Travelers - Plane Tickets

[kaijinscendre]

It just depends on what airport we fly into, honestly.

Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

Backstory: I have never owned a smartphone. For years I used a hand me down flip phone, I am using a better but still cheap gophone at the moment. Its beginning to really become a problem in the real world that I don't have a smartphone, so I am looking into it. My girlfriend said if I could get an iPhone she might be able to get me into her families Family plan, and then I would only be paying a little more per month than I am now, not counting data.

But I know nothing about smartphones. So I could use some advice? I don't want the newest version (I think an iphone 5 would work fine for me) so is it a good idea to buy used, like on Craigslist? Or should I get a new one anyway, and if so how do I buy one without buying a plan, since I am trying to get put on someone elses? What kind of price is actually reasonable to pay used (Im seeing a wide variance)? I assume I need to get one for the network they have (ATT) but what is "unlocked"? Please just... smartphone buying advice. Any you can give me, because I know nothing.

Re: Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-buying-guide,review-1971.html

Re: Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

When you add a line to an account, they give you options for buying a phone there. Check places like Amazon or Best Buy, see what they're running for new lines of service. Though, depending on your area, you might be able to get a solo plan for relatively cheap if you wanted to go that route (I pay $53 a month on Sprint for unlimited minutes/2GB of data, but shop around, you might find a better deal).

I would absolutely avoid buying a used iPhone. It's so very easy to be scammed there thanks to the OS it runs on (if it's locked by the previous owner, congrats, you bought a brick).

Re: Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

If I'm not the one adding the line though, how do I go about buying the phone/seeing how much a new line is? I don't actually live near the family that offered me onto their plan, and I've pretty much been told I would need to get the phone myself for them to add me. (Its 30 a month on their plan which I could definitely afford, I am not sure if I could find a solo plan that good...). I am confused by this whole thing tbh.

Re: Smartphones?

[dethtoll]

Consider getting a Windows Phone. They're a good smartphone for beginners and extremely cheap because nobody wants them. If you're paying more than $50/mo for unlimited voice/text and at least 1gb data you're getting ripped off.

Re: Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

I would rather an iphone cause I have tiny hands (literally they are the smallest of any non-child I have met) and I generally use Apple products for other things (computer, I had an ipod touch for a while before I dropped it from a long height, etc). Thanks though. I definitely can't afford more than 50 a month...

Re: Smartphones?

[cbrachyrhynchos]

Generally you have a few options:

1. Big-carrier contract. This is often cheaper if you do a family plan or want to get wireless bundled with other services. You agree to pay for service for 2 years, they give you your choice of phones for a "discount." You pay up front to upgrade from a basic to expensive phones. You get the option to upgrade every few years. Usually you pick from their catalog. The carrier can charge fees for early termination of the contract.

2. Service contract/buy the phone. You sign a service contract as above, but buy your phone outright. This is a good deal for early adopters who want to buy a "flagship" phone every year.

3. Service contract/payment plan. Similar service contract commitment, with the added commitment of installment payments on the phone.

4. No-contract/per-minute/data. I think Tracfone does this and some other prepaid carriers. You buy the phone. You pay for minutes, usually a minimum per month. Really cheap if you're not a heavy user. It stacks up quick if you need a lot of minutes or data. Choice of phones is usually very limited.

5. No-contract/monthly or daily. You buy the phone and pay on a monthly basis. Unlimited U.S. + 1 GB data is pretty standard these days. Choice of phones is usually limited.

Types of phones:

A: Android. Ubiquitous, good price range, strong software support. "Flagship" phones usually come down in price after a few years and price competition means there's a good range from $50 on up. Sheer number of versions makes shopping for accessories difficult. It's Google's world, we just live in it.

B: Apple. Great value for the money if you get it on contract. They tend to be a bit expensive if you don't, but prior generations are not quite so bad. It's Apple's world, we just live in it.

C: Windows. Windows Mobile seems to be a love or hate platform. It's less supported by 3rd party developers than either Apple or Android.

D: Others. Blackberry = dead. Kindle = Amazon's Android. Ubuntu = vaporware. Firefox = Just out of vaporware.

Other things to consider:

I: Heartbreak. How expensive of a phone will break your heart if it gets lost or destroyed.

II: What do you really want, what do you really need? I don't get close to hitting my data cap with social networking sites and email. Moving video or audio around can tear through your data limits.

III: Are you likely to move around or switch? Prepaid plans might be worthwhile if you are.

IV: Is there an app for that? Shop around and see what operating systems are supported by your must-have services and web sites.

I use an $80 Android phone with Cricket and pay $35 a month for unlimited domestic and 2.5 GB data. Cricket is nice in that they throttle data if you hit your limit rather than charge you.

EDIT: "Unlocked," means the phone isn't bound to the carrier. It might also mean that the phone has been modified to permit installation of 3rd-party software.

Re: Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

I second the people saying don't buy a used phone on like eBay or Craig's list. If you can get a certified refurbished from a retailer that might be OK.

I don't know anything about contracts and family plans, but I've been using Virgin Mobile since 2005 and have always liked it. I switched to my first smartphone a few years ago, and had to buy it outright. I got a telatively cheap one at first that was OK but as I got more used to it, and wanted to do more, I bought a Galaxy S3.

It was a generation back (nearly 2, I think) at the time and cost a couple hundred bucks, and I paid an extra hundred for an awesome case (otterbox defender). I've dropped it a bunch and never broken it, and once I had the phone, my monthly payment for what was originally 330000 minutes anytime talk-time and unlimited nights/weekends with unlimited data was $35. I've been a customer so long though, that they've upgraded me to unlimited everything.

Their phones range from cheap to super expensive (they do carry iPhones). The catch is the phones ONLY work with Virgin Mobile. Like, I can't leAve VM and sign up with a contract place and still use that phone, and I can't use a phone I bought while part of a different carrier on VM.

But like I said, I've been a customer for a decade with no problems. I'd definitely see if their coverage area is a good fit for you, and give it some consideration.

Re: Smartphones?

[(Anonymous)]

SA
Wow, something went awry there. That should be 300 minutes not 330000.