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At the Airport
Your closest, most convenient parking options are usually the airport's own lots and garages. Unfortunately, you often pay more for that convenience, even when you park in the more economical long-term lots. We've put together a sampler of the lowest available long-term parking rates at major airports around the country. If yours isn't listed, check your airport's Web site for up-to-date parking prices.

# Atlanta (ATL): $14/day
# Boston (BOS): $18/day or $108/week (six or seven days)
# Chicago (ORD): $7/day
# Cleveland (CLE): $10/day
# Houston Intercontinental (IAH): $6/day
# Los Angeles (LAX): $8/day
# Miami (MIA): $15/day
# Newark (EWR): $15/day for first day, $8 for each eight-hour period thereafter
# New York (JFK): $15/day for first day, $5 for each eight-hour period thereafter
# New York (LGA): $30/day for first 48 hours, $5 for each eight-hour period thereafter
# Philadelphia (PHL): $9/day
# Portland, OR (PDX): $14/day
# San Francisco (SFO): $13/day
# Seattle-Tacoma (SEA): $26/day or $130/week (six to seven days)

And these are "economy" lots! Shorter-term parking at the airport can cost you well over $30 to $50 a day and are a rather exorbitant option for trips longer than a couple of days.

Unfortunately, in high travel seasons the economy lots fill up quickly, and most airports won't let you reserve a space there ahead of time. Some airport Web sites do let you check the current status of their parking lots before you leave for your flight -- so if the lot you want is nearly full, you'll have time to consider public transportation or call off-site lots to see if they have any space.

Off-Site Parking
If you're willing to travel a bit farther from your car to the terminal, you can often save money by parking at an off-airport lot. Run by private companies, many off-site lots offer perks like valet parking, car washes and even oil changes (extra fees may apply). Even when their rates are higher than those at the airport, one major advantage of the off-site lots is that you can reserve your space ahead of time -- a good idea during peak travel times.

Private lots may be farther from the airport, but they often offer a more pleasant experience than lugging your bags across an enormous economy lot and crowding into a shuttle bus to get to your terminal. Frequent flier Andrew Bartels, who regularly travels out of Newark for business, has used both the airport's economy lot and private off-site parking -- and got far better service at the latter on his last trip. "The experience was great," said Bartels. "You pull in, leave your keys in the ignition, someone grabs your bags out of the car and puts them on a small shuttle. They give you a ticket and off you go to the airport, normally within five minutes. When you come back home, you call an 800 number and they send a shuttle for you. When you arrive, your car is running with the heat on. You pay via credit card and you are on your way."