Does Amex Platinum make Uber trips more expensive?

Old Dec 1, 2017, 10:32 am
  #91  
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Originally Posted by seawolf
They definitely do dynamic pricing. But having AMEX Plat vs not having AMEX does not produce a difference. In any case, if price is a concern, you should be checking Lyft at the same time if they are in your market. Just had a pickup from EWR. $64 on Uber vs $47 with Lyft at same service level.
^ Now that both services have upfront pricing, I've started checking Lyft and Uber for all trips and just go with whatever is cheapest. Oddly, I fly about twice a month out of LGA and I can't remember the last time Uber was NOT more expensive than Lyft going to LGA. Which is unfortunate, because I have to use that $15/month Amex credit.
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Old Dec 1, 2017, 4:50 pm
  #92  
 
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Originally Posted by dw
^ Now that both services have upfront pricing, I've started checking Lyft and Uber for all trips and just go with whatever is cheapest. Oddly, I fly about twice a month out of LGA and I can't remember the last time Uber was NOT more expensive than Lyft going to LGA. Which is unfortunate, because I have to use that $15/month Amex credit.
Well as long as the difference is less than $15 you'll come out on top versus not using the credit at all.
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Old Jun 29, 2018, 2:15 pm
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At least for me, uber is 200% more expensive in Seattle. Ride to airport is $95 via uberX vs $45 via Lyft. Tested Monday-Sunday at random times each day (e,g 1am, 5am, 8am, 12pm, 3pm. 9pm etc.). I consider this an anti-perk which makes amex plat more expensive beyond its $550 annual fee. FWIW my uber rating is 4.9+. Will likely cancel amex this year.
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Old Jun 29, 2018, 2:33 pm
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Originally Posted by Sung Sam
At least for me, uber is 200% more expensive in Seattle. Ride to airport is $95 via uberX vs $45 via Lyft. Tested Monday-Sunday at random times each day (e,g 1am, 5am, 8am, 12pm, 3pm. 9pm etc.). I consider this an anti-perk which makes amex plat more expensive beyond its $550 annual fee. FWIW my uber rating is 4.9+. Will likely cancel amex this year.
Are you comparing Uber to lift and fees in Seattle? If so this thread from the way I understand is to see when people have their AMEX platinum card tied to their Uber account would fares be higher than an Uber account alone without a platinum card attached
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Old Jun 29, 2018, 3:50 pm
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Originally Posted by Flying Machine


Are you comparing Uber to lift and fees in Seattle? If so this thread from the way I understand is to see when people have their AMEX platinum card tied to their Uber account would fares be higher than an Uber account alone without a platinum card attached
Regardless of the root cause, this extreme price differential renders Amexs $15 uber credit worthless for me. I save $40+ using Lyft every single time, even after using Amex perks for airport rides. And no, I dont use uber eats.
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Old Jun 29, 2018, 6:17 pm
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Originally Posted by Flying Machine
Are you comparing Uber to lift and fees in Seattle? If so this thread from the way I understand is to see when people have their AMEX platinum card tied to their Uber account would fares be higher than an Uber account alone without a platinum card attached
Another data point. I have taken 12 Uber rides this month and I always have my wife check her Uber account (no Amex Platinum card) at the same time I am requesting a ride. For all 12 rides, there literally has been no difference or a difference of a few pennies because she was a few seconds slower or faster than me checking.
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Old Jun 29, 2018, 6:35 pm
  #97  
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Originally Posted by Sung Sam
[..... I consider this an anti-perk which makes amex plat more expensive beyond its $550 annual fee....
I do not understand how a feature you do not use adds to your cost of holding the card.
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Old Jun 30, 2018, 8:49 am
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Originally Posted by mia
I do not understand how a feature you do not use adds to your cost of holding the card.
I believe he was trying to say by using it, he actually loses money.

By not using it, that also could be a big part of the $550 AF "value".
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Old Jun 30, 2018, 7:14 pm
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Originally Posted by mia
I do not understand how a feature you do not use adds to your cost of holding the card.
If I used uber because of the Amex perks, I would have overpaid (relative to Lyft) by $500-1000 in the past 3 months alone. Not using uber incurs a zero cost to me. I’m comparing use cases. If I was to use their “perk” I would have come out $500-1000 under. How exactly the pricing algorithm works is anyone’s guess. But my point is, this scenario is akin to handing out 20% off coupon on a product that was marked up by 200%. It has negative implicit value.

Last edited by mia; Jun 30, 2018 at 8:04 pm Reason: Remove inflammatory comments about other posters.
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Old Jun 30, 2018, 7:25 pm
  #100  
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Originally Posted by Sung Sam

If I used uber because of the Amex perks....
If I understand correctly, you do not use Uber when it is more expensive than Lyft, which means you have not overpaid. I have never used Uber or Lyft. There is no sense in which the presence of the unused feature increases the cost of the card for either of us.
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Old Jun 30, 2018, 7:59 pm
  #101  
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Old Jul 1, 2018, 4:00 pm
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Does anyone own BOTH Chase Sapphire Reserve & Amex Platinum?
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