How much does it cost to travel by bus from
Buenos Aires
to
Mar del Plata
, in the "semicama" category?
The more accurate answer is that it
depends
.
These days there are those who pay
$8,200
for a ticket, but others manage to spend $6,660, $5,900 or
$
5,740
.
Likewise, to travel the route between the Retiro
bus terminal and the
Córdoba
bus terminal in a "bed" seat
, some pay
$9,600
for the ticket, although it is also possible to get it for $7,700, $6,800 or
$5,400
, according to
Clarín
. this Thursday.
The sums, in turn, can be paid in cash;
or be financed in
several
installments without interest
, which is
equivalent to a discount
in itself due to high inflation.
To always be on the side of those who
do the best business
, and not on the side of those who pay the most, the key is for the passenger to take the trouble to
plan and anticipate
the issuance of their tickets, and not to let Pass on a number
of savings opportunities
.
Here are
five simple tactics
that allow you to get long-distance bus tickets with deep discounts and even
half price
.
The buses, with intense activity at this time, connect more than 1,600 destinations throughout the country.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden.
1. Buy online and in advance
Long distance companies must set the prices of their tickets within a
regulated rate band
, with
minimums
and
maximums
.
But there is an exception.
Since 2018, they are allowed to offer "low cost" fares well below the established floor, only to passengers who buy their tickets at least
10 days before
departure.
"Currently, on average, the
best rates
are available for those who purchase tickets
20 to 30 days
before traveling, and
online
or from
the company's app
," Gustavo Gaona, spokesman for the Long Distance Business Chamber
, explained to
Clarín
. (Celadi).
"To save, then, the
least advisable
thing for the passenger is
to arrive at the last minute
to buy the ticket at the terminal window, as was traditionally done," he added.
According to estimates in Celadi, an entity that brings together most of the companies in the sector, in
high season
these advance purchases allow paying up to
35% or 40%
less.
And for
low-season
travel or event deals like Cyber Monday or Hot Sale, the savings can even exceed
50% or 60%
.
2. Avoid peak days and times
As with flights, ultra-cheap tickets are offered with
limited spaces
(a few seats per bus) and mostly on less demanded departures.
That is to say, in the buses that the company anticipates that
it will be difficult for it to fill
.
For this reason, in addition to anticipating the purchase, another key to saving is for the passenger to be
flexible
in the choice of
days and times
, moving away from the typical days of "exodus" in which crowds travel.
"If times of high demand are avoided,
much more attractive rates
are achieved ," summarized Gaona.
On long weekends and in the summer fortnightly changes, finding offers becomes more difficult.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger.
3. Compare prices between companies
The old formula of "walking" looking for good prices, instead of staying with the first option, often allows you to discover that a bus company charges 10%, 20% or
30% less
than another for the desired ticket.
The good thing is that currently to carry out these surveys it is not necessary to spend hours going
through ticket offices
or entering
the websites of the carriers
one by one .
On sites such as Central de Pasajes, Plataforma 10, TicketOnline or Busplus,
a single query
in the search engine will be enough to access the offers of
the main companies
for any route and date, and easily detect the cheapest ones.
4. Take advantage of discounts
Simultaneously, with some
bank
cards and benefits
clubs
, passengers can get significant discounts.
The 365
cards
, for example, allow you to receive a
20% discount
at Central de Pasajes and at a group of selected companies.
Those who are university students, meanwhile, can also pay
20% less
for tickets in more than 20 companies if they register in a program called I am a Student with their regular student certificate.
On the other hand, there are companies -such as Flechabus, Chevallier and Urquiza- that now offer
a 10% discount
for buying tickets from
their own apps
.
Promotions allow you to pay less at any time of the year.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger.
5. Pay in interest-free installments
Finally, those who have
a credit card
can resort to multiple promotions to pay in
3, 6
and up to
12 installments without interest
, either within the framework of the Now 12 plan or through agreements with different
banks
.
Among the most outstanding proposals of the moment is that of
Banco Provincia
, which allows you to buy tickets with a
10%
discount and in
9 installments
without surcharge
in Plusmar, Urquiza, Chevallier and Flechabus.
With the Naranja X
cards
, this summer you can access
12 installments without interest
-or a 10% discount in 6 payments- in Flechabus, La Veloz del Norte, Urquiza, Chevallier, Zenit, Costera Criolla, San José, El Norte Bis and Empresa Argentina.
Whoever takes advantage of opportunities like this will divide the ticket price into
12 equal parts
, to be paid month by month with a fixed value between now and
March 2024
.
A striking proposal if one considers that for the next 12 months the expected inflation is
98.4%
.
MDG
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