Originally Posted by walkerds
I recently finished up college and have begun graduate school at Stanford near SJC (and SFO, kinda). In this situation, I am 23, and have an income of approximately $30k a year, $10k of which goes to housing. I have a girlfriend in Austin, a family in Louisville, and I need a better plan to keep my travel costs down.
Save your money. Invest in a pair of webcams and use the phone. Or, if you are feeling particularly romantic, write letters by longhand and pretend that you are living 50 years ago.
As a graduate student, your time is important and it might be better for you to not take off every 4 weeks on personal business.
In terms of flights, calculate what a frequent-flyer mile is worth to you (probably less than 1 cent) and factor that into weighing your options on hotwire, studentuniverse, and priceline.