We get a $200/year credit, through AmEx, for Uber. When Lynn was working, I'd use it from time to time. She worked at the Hyatt which was on the same property as our Convention Center. She usually received free tickets for any show, concert or event going on that we wanted to attend. It was a nice little perk. If there was a concert (for example), I'd usually Uber to her hotel, otherwise, if I drove, we'd have two cars there after the concert. The alternative was her having to drive home, pick me up and return to where she'd just left. It was much easier for me to Uber there, we'd have dinner, hit the concert, then drive home together. When we had the motorhome, we'd sometimes Uber somewhere to avoid driving the motorhome after a partial camp breakdown. We had a car to tow, but I never fooled with it.
But one place we always use Uber is in L.A. We visit her mom there a couple times a year and since she's in her late 80's, she doesn't care to drive on the freeways. We Uber from the airport to her house, then back again when we leave. But, the Uber credits we get are spread out ... $15/mo. and $35 in December. It works out best if we go the end of one month and return early the following month. Example, we leave for our cruise on 11/23 (so we'll have a $15 credit, and we return on 12/10, so we'll have a $35 credit when we return).
We have tried Lyft a couple of times when they've sent us a discount offer. I think the first was when we signed up for their app, and there have been a couple of offers through various credit cards I believe. As far as service is concerned, I really have no preference ... they've seemed pretty closely matched in our experience. Due to our on-going credit, Uber is usually our automatic go-to company. But, on our last trip to L.A., the Uber trip seemed much higher than we were accustomed to. Just for the heck of it, I checked Lyft and they were cheaper, but with our credit, it came out just a few pennies less with Uber. When we returned to LAX, Lyft was quite a bit cheaper than Uber (even with the Uber discount figured in), so we took Lyft instead. I'm just wondering if this was a fluke? Maybe timing? The Los Angeles market? Airport surcharges? Time of day? I don't know, but they used to be very competitive with their pricing, so I was a bit surprised.
Are there any regular users here who have noticed Uber pricing themselves out of the market?
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