Chicago to Denver or Rapid City?

Old Aug 21st, 2017, 01:22 PM
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Chicago to Denver or Rapid City?

It's about $500 r/t from Chicago to Rapid City for 06/2018. Should I fly into Rapid City or into Denver for $225 r/t and rent a car and drive 6 hours. (i'M RENTING A CAR AT EITHER PLACE.)
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Old Aug 22nd, 2017, 06:41 PM
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Ummm - where are you trying to go?
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Old Aug 23rd, 2017, 06:30 AM
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Also, how much "extra" (if any) will you be paying for your rental car if you drove since you'll be picking up in one location and dropping it off at a different location and how much do you think the 6 hours you spend driving is "worth" to you????
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Old Aug 24th, 2017, 07:13 AM
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It doesn't sound as if the OP will be dropping the car at a different place than it will be picked up, under either scenario. If in Denver (and driving back and forth to Rapid City), the drop-off will be in Denver. If in Rapid City (and flying back to the Denver connection) the car will be dropped off in Rapid City.

So it really is determining how much your time is worth, and the difference in the number of days and local rates for the car. Also - if there is a long layover in Denver, then you might actually save time by renting a car and driving.


Depending on the airline - be sure to check and see if you can book the legs of your flight separately. Sometimes (not always) that can be cheaper than the two legs booked together. Just make sure you have plenty of time to make your connection, and be aware that if you were to miss the second flight, it would be on your dime to re-book ... unless you're on Southwest. They allow rebooking for no extra fee (just the difference in the fare, if there IS a difference.)
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Old Aug 26th, 2017, 07:58 AM
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It is too soon to buy a ticket for next June. You can probably beat both of those fares, especially Denver. You can't book Frontier Airlines beyond April 7 yet. Wait until they are offering fares for Denver for your dates.

Time is money, so your choice depends on which you have more of. You would be driving 12+ hours to get where you want from DEN vs 1 or 2 hours if you flew to RAP.

That 11+ extra hours of driving makes the trip a lot less safe.

Am not saying the drive is unsafe or dangerous, But, if you don't do the drive then you can have more time at your destination instead of risking the chance that your car breaks down, you run out of gas, get in an accident, have a truck overturn and block the interstate, hydroplaning, etc. RAP is easier to use than DEN.
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Old Aug 26th, 2017, 08:05 AM
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You could, of course, just buy two one-way tickets instead of a roundtrip. I'd probably do that even if it was making a roundtrip. But an open-jaw is worth considering depending on what any one-way car rental drop-off fee might be.
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Old Aug 31st, 2017, 07:45 AM
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Depends on how much time you have and how much you like to drive long boring distances. You will be spending at least 6 hrs getting to and from the airport in Denver (basically 2 vacation days). The route is not really interesting so to me I'm wasting 2 days of vacation to save a few hundred. I would rather skimp someplace else in my budget.
You are way too far from your travel date to find reasonably priced tickets. Wait until the spring.
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