We took advantage of an awesome secret Delta perk when we took a free “shuttle” between LaGuardia and JFK airports. The shuttle ended up being a voucher with a $73 face value providing Town Car service to JFK!

Update 1/5/14: This still works! We used this last week on our way back from The Maldives. We were provided a free taxi ride from Newark-EWR to LaGuardia-LGA.

How It Works:

Delta has 2 hubs in the NYC area: LaGuardia and JFK. It is possible, based on flight schedules, that you’ll have to fly into one and out of the other. In most cases, the transfer is up to you and it’s not an easy one. If, however, you fly into Newark (EWR) or LaGuardia (LGA) and you have an international flight  (All Transatlantic / Transpacific / Mexico /Caribbean Flights) out out of JFK, then Delta will foot the bill!

When I was booking the flight to GEO (Georgetown, Guyana), the phone agent mentioned that Delta operates a shuttle between airports. Well, after a Google search and rooting around Delta’s website, that appears to not be true. Once we grabbed our bags at LGA, I went up to the baggage services Delta counter, asking for the “Shuttle to JFK.” As expected, the rep said, “There’s no shuttle to JFK. Let me see your tickets,” and, after some quick typing on the computer, she printed off a travel voucher.

How To Get It:

1. Book a Delta flight with 2+ legs with a connection in:

• LaGuardia (LGA) to/from JFK
• Newark (EWR) to/from JFK

2. Make sure you destination is international. Domestic flights DON’T QUALIFY, the rules state that only Transatlantic / Transpacific / Mexico / Caribbean flights qualify — which essentially means if you’re between the US and any red country on the map, you’re good to go.

Destinations that qualify, not bad!

3. At either JFK, LGA or EWR baggage claim, go to the Delta counter and explain you’re looking for the shuttle for your connecting flight. They’ll do a quick lookup, print off a voucher and call your town car!

The Terrible Alternatives, further emphasizing the awesome-ness of this deal:

Airport transfers are notoriously bad. When you think about it logically, there aren’t many reasons why a city would have 2 airport close together.

Newark (EWR) to JFK by subway can be done for cheap but will take 2+ hours!:

Newark (EWR) to JFK by cab can would cost $96+ w/ tip!:

LaGuardia (LGA) to JFK by subway, again cheap by difficult with bags and time consuming:

LaGuardia (LGA) to JFK by cab, at least $50+!: