Anatomy of a Trip to LA - Last Installment: In Town Transportation

This is the final post in a mini series about the Anatomy of my trip to LA the other two post can be viewed here and here.  This final post details how ignoring opportunities for free points can cost you in the long run. I was flying myself and my daughter to Los Angeles thanks to my acquisition of the Southwest companion pass which for me is valid through 12/31/13.  The hotel was being paid for with my free night stay bonus given as a perk for the $75 annual renewal fee for the Chase Hyatt Visa and the remaining two nights were paid with points I acquired through various means and my use of Vanilla reloads to pay my mortgage and acquire additional Ultimate Rewards points.  The only thing remaining was transportation once we arrived at the destination.

Service Report: Uber

Trip report: Uber

I wrote about the car service Uber  (read previous post here) and how to easily acquire $45 in credits to try out their service.  I put my credits to use on my recent trip to West Hollywood.  We arrived at LAX and at the last minute I decided not to rent a car.  So without any transportation I tried Uber, within 10 minutes I was sitting in a very nicely appointed current model black sedan with blacked out windows (its LA after all) enroute from LAX to West Hollywood.  The driver had bottled water ready for us, stowed our bags and we were off.  He was pleasant, sharply dressed (a suit and tie) and within an hour we pulled up to the hotel, no money was exchanged, no tip; it was inclusive for the rate.  The  ride was superb and I am so glad I had that $45 credit to use.  My out of pocket expense was $18.  Shortly after my arrival at the hotel I received an email receipt and a request to rate the driver.  It was the easiest, most unstressful airport pick up and so vey LA.

Do You Uber?

Uber  is the new startup company based in San Francisco making a mobile application able to connect passengers with drivers of luxury vehicles for hire.  Its more expensive than a cab but less expensive than a private car service. Anytime  a new service is introduced the company needs to get the word out and usually offers fantastic deals to get you on board.  Same holds true for Uber.