2023-07-04 13:46:00
A United Airlines plane. One of the airlines used by the student. Stefani Reynolds/AFP
Environmentalists will explode at this story. Because the rental costs around the University of Berkeley in California were too expensive, a student decided to stay at home. That’s why Bill S. commuted three times a week – by plane between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The crazy thing: it saved him thousands of dollars.
Also read: You get 84,000 euros if you buy a house here >>
Bill S. (he doesn’t want his last name written) has been accepted into the elite university for the year-long masters program in engineering. When he found out that one-bedroom apartments in the Berkeley area cost an average of $3,358 a month, he had a crazy idea. He revealed to the broadcaster KTLA: “I live at home for free and had a relatively large number of frequent flyer miles with two airlines. So I decided to try dowsing.”
Bill S. graduated last May. From August 2022, he will commute three times a week to his lectures at the university by scheduled flight. KTLA
Between August 2022 and his successful completion in May 2023, Bill S. flew 238 times. He arranged his courses so that he only had to be present on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He usually took the first flight in the morning between 5 and 6 a.m. in order to be at his first lecture at 10 a.m. sharp. In the evenings he chose the cheapest connection to get back to Los Angeles.
In the end, the student saved $28,000
He spent a total of just $2,434 and 576,000 frequent flyer miles on United Airlines and Alaska Airlines for the flights. He paid $671 for the S-Bahn from San Francisco airport to Berkeley, and $2,468 for parking and gas in Los Angeles.
archyde news
archyde news
So the entire fun cost Bill S. $5,592 – a good $28,000 less than what he would have had to pay for rent. He is proud of his achievement: “I didn’t miss a single lecture and I was never late! I love flying and have taken every advantage that frequent flyer status has offered me.”
On top of that, S. received a $60 bet from three fellow students: “She all bet that I wouldn’t be able to keep commuting for 10 months!”
1688503264
#cheaper #paying #rent #Student #commutes #university #plane