You commuting to a line or reserve? If it's a line or LCR, you'd probably be better off financially doing the hotel thing.

I just finished my IOE. Scheduling hasn't built me anything for September yet, but if it's going to be all SCR, then I might have to resort to getting a crashpad. I don't think the 250 will be enough. Hoping for a build up though... we'll see.

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I look at it like this: a crash pad will be 200-300 bucks, and not reimbursable (which is dumb, but I digress...), so if you spend it, you're out of pocket that amount, regardless.

Hotel rooms are 60-70 a night, reimbursable up to $250. If you spend over that $250, but less than that amount plus whatever a crashpad would cost, you still come out ahead. Basically you'd have to be spending more than $500-ish each month in hotel rooms for a crash pad to make financial sense.

As for getting stuck with commuting to reserve, bid for the late period, and every time you talk to scheduling just tell them you'll do whatever they need, so long as they don't make you spend the night in base. You'll be doing whatever they ask anyway, but you might as well try and get something for it.

This. Quoted for truthiness.

Depending on where you choose as a hotel the hotel includes transportation, possibly breakfast, the Best Western would let you use their washer and dryer for free, etc etc. A crash pad does not include any of those things so the pad actually costs rent plus transportation - which can be 5 -10 bucks each way on Uber and on top of all that you'll be for example in the Vandalia crash pad in a tiny tiny room with 5 beds in it without enough room to let a fart.

YMMV.