We have a company policy to prefer Lyft domestically. I've been at LAX during surge times in the last few months, to go about 2mi to the LAX Westin, it was $80 on Lyft and a mere crime of $50 on Uber. Uber Black was half the price of UberX, so it's good to have options with all those weird algorithms.

From my home to SFO, Uber is usually a few dollars cheaper than Lyft. I am not certain if my Uber Pass was playing into it. My free Lyft Pink membership has also lapsed.

I've also used Uber extensively overseas. In Mexico City it's so cheap that I thought it was a billing error. I was in the car for an hour, and it was about US$8. Hong Kong was the opposite, Uber was a lot more expensive than a local taxi.

So, it sounds like the $50/year is targeted to some platinum folks and there doesn't seem to be a way to get it otherwise. Bummer.