Originally Posted by
guv1976
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It really depends on how many times a day you plan to ride the subway (or the buses).
Note that the AirTrain does not go to or from Manhattan; it runs between the airport and two subway stations in Queens, where you can catch the subway to Manhattan.
Also, for a group of five traveling together, you should buy a 10-trip AirTrain card for $25, which can be shared. But after four swipes, the card locks up for 18 minutes, so one of your group will need to use a regular pay-per-ride MetroCard to get through the AirTrain faregate, unless one of the station attendants decides to let the fifth person through without a swipe. (The 7-day unlimited Metrocards are not valid for AirTrain travel.)
The gate stays open for a significant amount of time that two could get through with no problem...not that i endorse that sort of behavior.
The MTA also charges $1 per metro card and won't let you reload a 10 trip AirTrain card so you can rationalize it that way if you like.