It can definitely be done on less than 600. At my age (34), I wouldn't be caught dead spending that little and having to deal with all the irritations that come with such a budget. That said, at 21, I'd be pinching ever penny. These days, I spend around 1000-1300 each pax.
I fly a lot so let me give you some tips:
No matter who you fly with, sign up for their frequent flier program. The worst that happens is that you build up some mile you never use. The best that happens is you use those miles later.
If you have credit card miles, try to use those. There are a lot of blackout dates, but it never hurts to try.
You should find out which provider flies most frequently between your home airport and boston. For example, delta charges $250 for JFK to ATL, but charges around $1000+ for a flight to Texas. Jet blue or united charges more JFK to ATL but less to Texas. Why? Frequency for flights and federal and state tax deals based on volume. It's common that one carrier owns a regional airport, and you should fly with them.
check every carrier frequently for deals. If you fly out on a weird day or time, like 8 am Wednesday, you can save over 50% in some cases. I just got LGA to STL for like $200 on delta just by waiting on a sale.
Don't blow off one stop flights. They can often be very cost effective. Everyone wants nonstop, but one stop is not bad usually.
Finally, don't just use kayak or fly.com. Check each site directly. Check sun country. Check southwest. Look around, gather prices, and be ready to pull the trigger when you see a desirable price point.
To piggyback on checking airline sites directly; some airlines don't have their fares on places such as kayak.com (looking at you Southwest), or the fares may not update on fare aggregate sites (had this happen when looking at flights for this past Prime, so the price was lower for some flights when I went directly to the airlines webpage.)
Southwest you actually can't book for that week yet anyway. It has been up until the weekend before East for like the past Month. Hopefully that will change soon, but who knows. I was actually hoping they had changed it this week as they were having a sale. haha.
I learned one thing from last year.
You can sleep in the bottom of the parking garage in the hotel next to the con for free.
But parking will cost you $90 for the 3 days
Just bring some blankets to stay warm and black bags to cover the windows.
Very cheap, quiet, and good amount of seclusion
Its so quiet down there you will stay just to hear nothing. Very amazing, not hearing anything but your body living.
Great if you drive in, as we must for the Lan.
While I dont suggest you expect this to happen, it iiiiis possible for you to get free floor space from the room share thread the closer you get to pax (personal experience). So worst case scenario, if you have nowhere to stay, there's probably a chill/understanding person who'll help you out.
Side note, enter as many contests as possible and look for free after parties. There's plenty of expensive prizes you can score to recoup the money you spent. I actually ended up making money my PAX10 by cutting cost everywhere using tips people mentioned, then somehow winning an intel i7 extreme from the intel booth I literally spent 10 minutes on. Then close to broke even my PAX 11 from all the swag I got at after parties.
I met someone while at pax east this last year that didn't have a place to stay, and had slept outside on a bench the night before. I offered to let him sleep on our floor, and he did. Probably should have cleared it with the guys we were doing a roomshare with..
Seeing a random 5th guy on the floor in the morning must have been a little surprising.
WiFiPunk on
PAX East 2015 Status: Badge[X] Hotel[X] Car[X] Vacation[X]
Man, I don't think I could even attempt to spend $1500 for PAX. I'd actually run out of ways to spend the money and end up having to give charity $500-$1000 on my way out on the last day. How do you guys manage to spend like that!?
Financing our expenses for it early. For me I plan on bringing around lets say $1200-$1500 depending on my Over Time at work. Plus also I should be getting my Tax Return before the Convention so I will use some of the funds for the Con too.
Ya I am hoping my tax return comes in as well other wise I could be in trouble cause thats mostly what I was planning on using should not be a issue though.
I typically spend around $1-1.5k each PAX on travel hotel and food/alcohol, but I'm there for a full week and have no flight costs. However, I have been able to do it for under $300, but that was when I lived driving distance from PAX so I didn't need flight or bus.
Breakdown:
* I like to figure at least $200-$300 for food for 3 days, but it can be done on $100 if you're careful about what you buy.
* Hotel can be had for $100 or less if you like cramming people into a room. Nowadays I spend about $200 a person for a hotel, not real fond of sleeping atop others anymore.
* I spend about $25 on gas. Obviously if you need a plane or train this will be much higher.
* Spending money will vary greatly. I have gone entire PAX's without spending any, while others I have spend thousands (not all at the con). $100 is a good starting point.
* Alcohol: Under 21, don't drink? Great, knock $100-$300 and potential embarrassment off that price.
PAX EAST 2014: Ticket/Enforcing[x] Hotel [x] Travel [x]
Obviously, there is a massive range for this depending on how you go about it. Last year, I spent $180 and my boyfriend spent $160 over the whole three day PAX weekend; this was accomplished by traveling via Greyhound and purchasing online early ($18 tickets), staying with a family friend, and getting badges through an exhibitor in exchange for 10 hours of work. We packed our bags with a dozen bagels, a jar of peanut butter, a bunch of Cheezits and trail mix, etc. We paid for only one cab ride, and only one takeout meal, and only bought a couple new games and some other tokens (dice and such). Obviously it is also possible to spend a lot of money and stay in a hotel and buy lots of cool things and such! So it is really hard to say for sure how much you'll end up needing for your particular PAX experience. Depending how you choose to travel, I 100% recommend packing bagels, peanut butter, and jelly. PB&J bagels are a very calorie-dense meal that will keep you going for a long time, travel very easily, and cost almost nothing at your local grocery store.
Another thing to take into consideration is that the convention center closes at 12 midnight this year .. even after the concerts and tabletop.
Because of this you can still catch the concerts AND get on a train / bus before they stop running for the night. So you can find a cheap place to stay that may be located somewhere nearby on the train system.
I honestly thought they cut 2 hours out of Prime was because it changed to 4 days. They even lowered the single day badges for Prime, which I also thought was because it was ending at midnight.
I just don't get how the badges can be more expensive for East, but yet we get 4 less hours... I don't know about anyone else, but I love late night in the convention center, and this is disappointing, even though I know their reasoning for Prime was that few people utilized these hours.
If after hotel/room costs you don't have at least 100 a day, don't bother. Lots going on for free, but getting there ahead of the crowd costs money. ESO party for example last year was awesome, but after seeing the bus line to get to it, my friend and I left the line and shared a cab. When we were leaving the party, one of the people we were in line with at BCEC was just arriving, 2 hours later.
Okay, so after years of saying "one of these times..." my wife and I are going to PAX East this year. Not only is this going to be our first PAX ever, it's also basically going to be our first con ever. I've done road trips of about this length before, so I know what to plan and budget for on that front (plus, we get 14-ish hours to catch up on podcasts - yay!). And on the plus side, we're set on accommodations because we have family who are willing to put us up for a few days and they live all of a few minutes' drive away from the BCEC. So all in all, we're managing travel and lodging expenses very well.
Here's the problem - I have no idea what to expect as far as expenses once we get inside the doors. I'm seeing a lot of "don't eat the BCEC food" advice for saving money. That makes sense. But being a first-time con/PAX attendee, I'm not even sure what to expect at the merch booths. For example, if I want to pick up some a t-shirt from the PA booth, should I expect the same prices as the PA store online? More? Less? How about hoodies/jackets? Do other vendors track about the same prices? Basically, if we want to pick up a few items of clothing and a few knick-knacks, how much should I expect to spend by the end of day 3?
Beyond the merch, what am I overlooking that I might have to spend some money on during PAX? I've heard Magic: the Gathering events are PAX regulars - are there entry fees for official events like that?
Last set of questions: should I just bring everything I plan to spend in cash? Or do the vendors use Square or something similar to take cards?
Profuse thanks to any and everyone who can elucidate some of this for me.
shirts are /about/ the same as the PA store. I don't remember exactly. It might be $20 for the con exclusive shirts? I would say other vendors are about the same. Things aren't horribly inflated. I also don't buy stuff from too many vendors other than the PA store and FoamBrain Games. I would budget about $100-150 for misc merch if you want to pick up a variety of stuff but not spend too much.
There are entry fees for events where you are purchasing the product you are playing with. Most other events are free, if you are bringing your own materials or are not leaving with any materials. Some vendors use Square, but there can be issues with the cell service so cash is not a bad choice.
Okay, so after years of saying "one of these times..." my wife and I are going to PAX East this year. Not only is this going to be our first PAX ever, it's also basically going to be our first con ever. I've done road trips of about this length before, so I know what to plan and budget for on that front (plus, we get 14-ish hours to catch up on podcasts - yay!). And on the plus side, we're set on accommodations because we have family who are willing to put us up for a few days and they live all of a few minutes' drive away from the BCEC. So all in all, we're managing travel and lodging expenses very well.
Here's the problem - I have no idea what to expect as far as expenses once we get inside the doors. I'm seeing a lot of "don't eat the BCEC food" advice for saving money. That makes sense. But being a first-time con/PAX attendee, I'm not even sure what to expect at the merch booths. For example, if I want to pick up some a t-shirt from the PA booth, should I expect the same prices as the PA store online? More? Less? How about hoodies/jackets? Do other vendors track about the same prices? Basically, if we want to pick up a few items of clothing and a few knick-knacks, how much should I expect to spend by the end of day 3?
Beyond the merch, what am I overlooking that I might have to spend some money on during PAX? I've heard Magic: the Gathering events are PAX regulars - are there entry fees for official events like that?
Last set of questions: should I just bring everything I plan to spend in cash? Or do the vendors use Square or something similar to take cards?
Profuse thanks to any and everyone who can elucidate some of this for me.
Watch out for parking expense near the BCEC. Driving in does save some money, but traffic is truly appalling, and you will need to get in early (before 8-9am) to get close-by parking that doesn't cost a small fortune.
Also, there are many great places to eat within walking distance of the BCEC if you're into seafood and/or beer. They aren't cheap, but for the cost you get exceptional food and drink. (Legal, LTK, Nameless, Harpoon Brewery, etc.)
In terms of spending money, I recommend keeping some cash on you (~$200 max), and rely on credit/debit cards for everything else. If need be, there are ATMs around. I say ~$200 max b/c if you do find yourself in a spot that you get pick pocketed, or you lose your wallet, you aren't out too much cash. Also, continuing zerzhul's comment on square readers; some worked during the event, some didn't, and I was glad to have some cash when I got the the Chessex booth.
In all, last year I got away with spending about $400 outside of my lodging and flights. With that I took the taxi whenever I felt the need, ate out at Legal Harborside, Legal Test Kitchen, and the Harpoon Brewery, and pretty much lived off of roomservice and the hotel breakfast (Hyatt Regency).
Honestly, I see the highest risk being this is your first Convention. This event is like 3 days of solid excitement, and there are all sorts of things to do. Be prepared for exhibitors that are also vending product for discounted prices. I nearly bought a keyboard last year because the at event coupons were so good it was hard not to justify some purchases. There are events and experiences at PAX East that you may see at once in a lifetime, and you may decide in the moment that money is a non-issue.
Everyone is different though. Hopefully this is a great experience for you and your wife.
sacratoy on
PAX Prime 2014: Pass [x] Hotel [x] Flights [x] Vacation Days [x]
I am local to PAX East, but being a travel buff and a regular lodger in Boston, let me give you two quick tips.
Use bookingbuddy.com or Kyak.com to scope out 24-hour flight sales. Consider making multiple stops or flying into TF Greene and using the commuter rail/charter bus to get to Boston.
Also.. Hipmunk.com, favorite of the Reddit community for a reason, super easy to compare flight/hotel prices.
The further you stay from the BCEC, the cheaper. Use the MBTA website to determine neighborhoods you could stay in while still taking a train to the convention center. Although we only live about 50 minutes out, we stay in Southie at a nice hotel that has yet to price gouge during PAX. The train also beats the 20-30 minute wait of the hotel shuttles.
I spent the same this year that I did in 2011. About 2k for 2 people flying from NC to Boston for 4 nights in a nice hotel. Maybe a little bit more idk. And I have about 1500 saved up for anything but food. The most expensive thing is going to be hotels.
I love Tacos.
WoW: BanAnnaPi#1341
Steam: BanAnnaPie
Origin: BanAnnaPie
3DS Friend Code: 3840 - 6540 - 5643 https://twitter.com/xAnnasaurusx
shirts are /about/ the same as the PA store. I don't remember exactly. It might be $20 for the con exclusive shirts? I would say other vendors are about the same. Things aren't horribly inflated. I also don't buy stuff from too many vendors other than the PA store and FoamBrain Games. I would budget about $100-150 for misc merch if you want to pick up a variety of stuff but not spend too much.
There are entry fees for events where you are purchasing the product you are playing with. Most other events are free, if you are bringing your own materials or are not leaving with any materials. Some vendors use Square, but there can be issues with the cell service so cash is not a bad choice.
I would also recommend getting in line early for the PAX- specific merch, it always sells out quickly…
I'm guessing "get in line early" means "first thing Friday as soon as we get in the doors." Is that more or less the right of it?
Also, going back to the response from @sacratoy - I read that the parking at BCEC is $10/day or $25/day with valet parking. Those both sound like reasonable options to me - do I just have to try to make it there first thing in the morning so I can actually get a parking spot in the BCEC lot? And what would first thing in the morning equate to, 6:00? 7:00? I'm fine with spending $25/day and rolling up at 7:00 in the morning if it means getting decent parking.
If I'm not lucky enough to get BCEC parking, is that where the "small fortune" comes in?
Also on parking, I'm guessing cash would be the preferred tender, right?
I realize I'm asking a lot of what are probably basic questions, but I get a little neurotic about planning and I'm a firm believer in the Five P's (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance).
Before I finally finished college, PAX was a very expensive trip for me, anyone who is in a pinch financially, but plans on going next year, the best thing you can do it start now. Put 25 bucks a week into a separate account aside from your savings. If you find one week you have a bit extra, throw an extra bit now and again, you'd be surprised how quickly it adds up over a year. Realistically if you have another person to go with you can do PAX fairly cheap, aside from travel, because that varies from your location. You save 25 bucks a week for 52 weeks, you got yourself 1300 bucks, which is a pretty damn good start.
This will be the first year that I'm settled into my career and have the ability to enjoy the trip and not worry about the funding, but I totally know what it's like to be in those shoes. Plus this will be the first year we come in the day before instead of leaving at midnight the night of PAX and being miserable the first day. I look forward to PAX every year, surrounded by people who are all there under a common interest is a wonderful feeling.
ya I plan on bringing around a grand with me myself. So all in all after hotel,ticket,train ticket would be looking at around 1300-1350 for the total pax trip
Posts
I fly a lot so let me give you some tips:
No matter who you fly with, sign up for their frequent flier program. The worst that happens is that you build up some mile you never use. The best that happens is you use those miles later.
If you have credit card miles, try to use those. There are a lot of blackout dates, but it never hurts to try.
You should find out which provider flies most frequently between your home airport and boston. For example, delta charges $250 for JFK to ATL, but charges around $1000+ for a flight to Texas. Jet blue or united charges more JFK to ATL but less to Texas. Why? Frequency for flights and federal and state tax deals based on volume. It's common that one carrier owns a regional airport, and you should fly with them.
check every carrier frequently for deals. If you fly out on a weird day or time, like 8 am Wednesday, you can save over 50% in some cases. I just got LGA to STL for like $200 on delta just by waiting on a sale.
Don't blow off one stop flights. They can often be very cost effective. Everyone wants nonstop, but one stop is not bad usually.
Finally, don't just use kayak or fly.com. Check each site directly. Check sun country. Check southwest. Look around, gather prices, and be ready to pull the trigger when you see a desirable price point.
Massive Crystal Cavern!
Massive Crystal Cavern!
You can sleep in the bottom of the parking garage in the hotel next to the con for free.
But parking will cost you $90 for the 3 days
Just bring some blankets to stay warm and black bags to cover the windows.
Very cheap, quiet, and good amount of seclusion
Its so quiet down there you will stay just to hear nothing. Very amazing, not hearing anything but your body living.
Great if you drive in, as we must for the Lan.
Side note, enter as many contests as possible and look for free after parties. There's plenty of expensive prizes you can score to recoup the money you spent. I actually ended up making money my PAX10 by cutting cost everywhere using tips people mentioned, then somehow winning an intel i7 extreme from the intel booth I literally spent 10 minutes on. Then close to broke even my PAX 11 from all the swag I got at after parties.
Seeing a random 5th guy on the floor in the morning must have been a little surprising.
Financing our expenses for it early. For me I plan on bringing around lets say $1200-$1500 depending on my Over Time at work. Plus also I should be getting my Tax Return before the Convention so I will use some of the funds for the Con too.
Breakdown:
* I like to figure at least $200-$300 for food for 3 days, but it can be done on $100 if you're careful about what you buy.
* Hotel can be had for $100 or less if you like cramming people into a room. Nowadays I spend about $200 a person for a hotel, not real fond of sleeping atop others anymore.
* I spend about $25 on gas. Obviously if you need a plane or train this will be much higher.
* Spending money will vary greatly. I have gone entire PAX's without spending any, while others I have spend thousands (not all at the con). $100 is a good starting point.
* Alcohol: Under 21, don't drink? Great, knock $100-$300 and potential embarrassment off that price.
Because of this you can still catch the concerts AND get on a train / bus before they stop running for the night. So you can find a cheap place to stay that may be located somewhere nearby on the train system.
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I just don't get how the badges can be more expensive for East, but yet we get 4 less hours... I don't know about anyone else, but I love late night in the convention center, and this is disappointing, even though I know their reasoning for Prime was that few people utilized these hours.
Trade me pins! - https://pinnypals.com/pals/TheAggroCraig
Here's the problem - I have no idea what to expect as far as expenses once we get inside the doors. I'm seeing a lot of "don't eat the BCEC food" advice for saving money. That makes sense. But being a first-time con/PAX attendee, I'm not even sure what to expect at the merch booths. For example, if I want to pick up some a t-shirt from the PA booth, should I expect the same prices as the PA store online? More? Less? How about hoodies/jackets? Do other vendors track about the same prices? Basically, if we want to pick up a few items of clothing and a few knick-knacks, how much should I expect to spend by the end of day 3?
Beyond the merch, what am I overlooking that I might have to spend some money on during PAX? I've heard Magic: the Gathering events are PAX regulars - are there entry fees for official events like that?
Last set of questions: should I just bring everything I plan to spend in cash? Or do the vendors use Square or something similar to take cards?
Profuse thanks to any and everyone who can elucidate some of this for me.
There are entry fees for events where you are purchasing the product you are playing with. Most other events are free, if you are bringing your own materials or are not leaving with any materials. Some vendors use Square, but there can be issues with the cell service so cash is not a bad choice.
Watch out for parking expense near the BCEC. Driving in does save some money, but traffic is truly appalling, and you will need to get in early (before 8-9am) to get close-by parking that doesn't cost a small fortune.
Also, there are many great places to eat within walking distance of the BCEC if you're into seafood and/or beer. They aren't cheap, but for the cost you get exceptional food and drink. (Legal, LTK, Nameless, Harpoon Brewery, etc.)
In terms of spending money, I recommend keeping some cash on you (~$200 max), and rely on credit/debit cards for everything else. If need be, there are ATMs around. I say ~$200 max b/c if you do find yourself in a spot that you get pick pocketed, or you lose your wallet, you aren't out too much cash. Also, continuing zerzhul's comment on square readers; some worked during the event, some didn't, and I was glad to have some cash when I got the the Chessex booth.
In all, last year I got away with spending about $400 outside of my lodging and flights. With that I took the taxi whenever I felt the need, ate out at Legal Harborside, Legal Test Kitchen, and the Harpoon Brewery, and pretty much lived off of roomservice and the hotel breakfast (Hyatt Regency).
Honestly, I see the highest risk being this is your first Convention. This event is like 3 days of solid excitement, and there are all sorts of things to do. Be prepared for exhibitors that are also vending product for discounted prices. I nearly bought a keyboard last year because the at event coupons were so good it was hard not to justify some purchases. There are events and experiences at PAX East that you may see at once in a lifetime, and you may decide in the moment that money is a non-issue.
Everyone is different though. Hopefully this is a great experience for you and your wife.
PAX Prime 2014 Preparations Complete
Use bookingbuddy.com or Kyak.com to scope out 24-hour flight sales. Consider making multiple stops or flying into TF Greene and using the commuter rail/charter bus to get to Boston.
Also.. Hipmunk.com, favorite of the Reddit community for a reason, super easy to compare flight/hotel prices.
The further you stay from the BCEC, the cheaper. Use the MBTA website to determine neighborhoods you could stay in while still taking a train to the convention center. Although we only live about 50 minutes out, we stay in Southie at a nice hotel that has yet to price gouge during PAX. The train also beats the 20-30 minute wait of the hotel shuttles.
WoW: BanAnnaPi#1341
Steam: BanAnnaPie
Origin: BanAnnaPie
3DS Friend Code: 3840 - 6540 - 5643
https://twitter.com/xAnnasaurusx
I would also recommend getting in line early for the PAX- specific merch, it always sells out quickly…
Oh god yes. Last time I wanted the scarf and they were sold out. But I did get a shirt and some other neat things.
WoW: BanAnnaPi#1341
Steam: BanAnnaPie
Origin: BanAnnaPie
3DS Friend Code: 3840 - 6540 - 5643
https://twitter.com/xAnnasaurusx
Also, going back to the response from @sacratoy - I read that the parking at BCEC is $10/day or $25/day with valet parking. Those both sound like reasonable options to me - do I just have to try to make it there first thing in the morning so I can actually get a parking spot in the BCEC lot? And what would first thing in the morning equate to, 6:00? 7:00? I'm fine with spending $25/day and rolling up at 7:00 in the morning if it means getting decent parking.
If I'm not lucky enough to get BCEC parking, is that where the "small fortune" comes in?
Also on parking, I'm guessing cash would be the preferred tender, right?
I realize I'm asking a lot of what are probably basic questions, but I get a little neurotic about planning and I'm a firm believer in the Five P's (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance).
This will be the first year that I'm settled into my career and have the ability to enjoy the trip and not worry about the funding, but I totally know what it's like to be in those shoes. Plus this will be the first year we come in the day before instead of leaving at midnight the night of PAX and being miserable the first day. I look forward to PAX every year, surrounded by people who are all there under a common interest is a wonderful feeling.