May 3, 2013, 1:32 pm
Last edit by: RichardInSF
Short term parking:
ParkSFO
Pros:
QuikPark
Pros:
Burlingame Airport Parking (ParkBAP)
Pros:
Anza
Pros:
BART
Pros:
SFO Long Term Parking and Lot D
** The shuttle buses look exactly the same! One says 'Lot D', the other says 'Long Term Parking' (likely no longer a concern? see below re: AirTrain)
SFO Long Term Parking
Pros:
Cons:
SFO Long Term Parking Lot D
Pros:
ParkSFO
Pros:
- Generally highest rated by FTers
- Fast and regular shuttles
- Quick & easy access from 101 freeway
- Register for emails to receive monthly coupons
- Coupons for 1 free with 3+ days, 2 free with 5+ days, 3 free with 7+ days, and 4 free with 9+ days parked in a single stay.
- Coupons are blacked out during Thanksgiving, Xmas, and other peak periods
- www.parksfo.com/coupons/
- June 2013 Coupon
- Often full or forced to valet at higher rate
- More expensive than other off-airport options, especially if no coupon
- Reservations required or risk likely being turned away at entry
- Price listed online does not include tax and fees (which is around 16%)
QuikPark
Pros:
- Online reservations
- Relatively cheap
- must prebook online for best rate and bring printout to give to attendant
- Slow shuttles
- Even with a reservation, sometimes fill up and hard to find a spot
(note: if you book on-line and the lot is full, they will find you a space-you will be stopped at the gate but all you have to do is show them your pre-paid receipt)
Burlingame Airport Parking (ParkBAP)
Pros:
- Consistently one of the cheapest, especially for weekly rates.
- Generally do not have to prebook to get the best rate.
- 3 shuttles an hour only, and a bit slower than average due to distance. Try to arrive at or before :00, :20, or :40 to allow a few minutes wait.
- September 2013: For pickups late, I feel the turnaround times are more consistent with 2x per hour for the shuttle. No posted change, however.
- Poor ratings (see yelp)
Anza
Pros:
- With Burlingame Airport Parking, the only parking South of airport (Other than BART)
- Easy access dropoff, not so easy to get back on freeway (S-101)
- Valet is free (no extra charge) when they are near capacity
- Frequent parker program: Each 30 paid days yields a 5-consecutive-day park for free. Check in on facebook and receive credit for 1/2 paid day as well. (Note: This program has changed. It is now tied into the Fivestars card rather than a paper punch card.)
- When partially full, they require you use their free valet service, and this requirement varies from hour to hour. Be sure to have nothing valuable in your car!
- Poor shuttle service for SFO arrivals at busy weekend/holidays (30-45min wait)
- Need a printed coupon from their website to get the best rate
BART
Pros:
- Free over the weekend (except the cost of using BART to the airport) and holidays, even as part of a longer stay
- Online reservations for weekday parking
- BART schedule is known well in advance
- Pretty much guaranteed a parking spot
- Hard to use if you're trying to park or pick up when BART is closed for the night
- Possibility of getting a ticket if you overstay your reservation
- Can wait up to 20 minutes for BART in off-peak hours, or have to go to San Bruno and back to Millbrae during peak hours (or take a taxi for about $12)
SFO Long Term Parking and Lot D
** The shuttle buses look exactly the same! One says 'Lot D', the other says 'Long Term Parking' (likely no longer a concern? see below re: AirTrain)
SFO Long Term Parking
Pros:
Regular shuttles (not the fastest, not the slowest)- AirTrain blue line now goes to Long Term Parking (no more bus shuttles) but makes quite a number of stops before reaching the domestic terminals
- Sometimes if the normal area and Lot D fill up, you'll get a voucher to use the short-term parking at long-term rates
- Covered Parking in the garage - it gets full at peak times
Cons:
- Expensive
- However, current promo is $12/day for 3 days prepaid online (and the rate decreases for additional days)
SFO Long Term Parking Lot D
Pros:
- Sometimes if the Long Term Parking area and Lot D fill up, you'll get a voucher to use the short-term parking at long-term rates
- Expensive
Tips for Long Term Parking and Lot D- Park near Stop 5 in Long Term Parking and you are the first off the bus and out of the parking lot!
- Although the signs will indicate that a floor is full, I am often able to find a spot on these floors.
- Airtrain station is on level 5 of the garage
Month or longer parking:
Someone who's done this please add experiences - I (rob_flies_ua) would just pay for a shuttle or car service at this point. unavaca recommends taking Uber in this case.
AirportParkingReservations.com coupon:
$5 off: FBFRIENDS415
EXPIRES 12/31/16 @ 11:59 PM PST Coupon Valid Online Only
SFO Parking
May 5, 2016 | 1:19 pm
#198
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: VLO
Posts: 233
BART to SFO was my go to. Doesn't work so well with a wife and two year old though. My first time using long term parking. Wasn't too bad an experience with Park SFO.
May 5, 2016 | 1:26 pm
#200
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Atherton, CA
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Owner, Green Bay Packers
Posts: 21,685
A possible workaround is to buy a pass and end it on Sunday, then later while on your trip sign up for another pass starting on Sunday and ending when you return. They are supposed to allow you to "extend" your stay this way to cope with delayed return flights, etc.
However, given BART's poor IT, I'm not sure I'd trust this unless I had to.
Tickets for overstay are $40.
May 5, 2016 | 4:35 pm
#201
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,377
Even if this works as you expect (see Doc Savage's warning in post #200) what is the benefit of doing it vs. Uber or Lyft? I live 28 miles from SFO, and for roughly the same price you pay to leave your car in a public lot and shuffle through BART I leave my car securely parked at home, enjoy curb-to-curb service, and never worry about missing the last train when my return flight gets in late.
May 5, 2016 | 4:45 pm
#202
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Atherton, CA
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Owner, Green Bay Packers
Posts: 21,685
Even if this works as you expect (see Doc Savage's warning in post #200) what is the benefit of doing it vs. Uber or Lyft? I live 28 miles from SFO, and for roughly the same price you pay to leave your car in a public lot and shuffle through BART I leave my car securely parked at home, enjoy curb-to-curb service, and never worry about missing the last train when my return flight gets in late.
May 5, 2016 | 5:57 pm
#203
Moderator: Hilton Honors, Practical Travel Safety Issues, Information Desk & San Francisco
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: San Francisco CA
Programs: UA, Hilton, Priceline, AirBnB
Posts: 11,319
not the OP but
Mountain View is about 28 mi from SFO and Uber says
https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/
Your Options:
uberXL $49-64
uberX $32-41
UberBLACK $124-162
UberSUV $140-181
UberSELECT $93-122
uberWAV $77-101
https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/
Your Options:
uberXL $49-64
uberX $32-41
UberBLACK $124-162
UberSUV $140-181
UberSELECT $93-122
uberWAV $77-101
May 6, 2016 | 5:48 pm
#204
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,377
May 8, 2016 | 3:37 am
#205
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Marriott Titanium, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,531
I gave up driving my own car, and use rental cars now. Thankfully I live very close to both an Avis/Budget and Hertz, and between our corporate rate and general weekend specials I can normally get a one-way to the airport for (on average) about $35 incl gas, and a return for about $55 (due to the $20 airport fee at SFO).
That's far less than paying for parking (+mileage) for everything except a very short trip, a little less than Uber (and I'd prefer to drive myself anyway), and scores me a pile of frequent renter points.
The only catch is that one-way rates can be very low, or they can be very high - depending on the day/company/etc. If you don't have (legitimate) access to a corporate rate that has low one-way rates then the prices could be double or more the above rates.
That's far less than paying for parking (+mileage) for everything except a very short trip, a little less than Uber (and I'd prefer to drive myself anyway), and scores me a pile of frequent renter points.
The only catch is that one-way rates can be very low, or they can be very high - depending on the day/company/etc. If you don't have (legitimate) access to a corporate rate that has low one-way rates then the prices could be double or more the above rates.
May 8, 2016 | 2:03 pm
#206
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 60,714
May 8, 2016 | 2:24 pm
#207
Moderator: Hyatt, American Express; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, AA EXP, UA Silver, Hyatt Glob, Mlife Noir (=> Marriott Amb), invol FT beta tester
Posts: 21,669
Anyone have any ^ or 
on recent park-sleep-fly experiences?
on recent park-sleep-fly experiences?
May 10, 2016 | 11:23 pm
#208
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: SFO
Posts: 2,139
Even if this works as you expect (see Doc Savage's warning in post #200) what is the benefit of doing it vs. Uber or Lyft? I live 28 miles from SFO, and for roughly the same price you pay to leave your car in a public lot and shuffle through BART I leave my car securely parked at home, enjoy curb-to-curb service, and never worry about missing the last train when my return flight gets in late.
The benifit over Uber/Lift is that I don't have to leave the car at home. I live in the city with only street parking. Even with a city parking sticker, the 72 hour rule, street sweeping, random no parking construction signs, break ins, and even hit and runs its just not worth it to me to leave it at home. $96 is cheap insurance for me.
May 11, 2016 | 4:33 pm
#209
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,377
The benifit over Uber/Lift is that I don't have to leave the car at home. I live in the city with only street parking. Even with a city parking sticker, the 72 hour rule, street sweeping, random no parking construction signs, break ins, and even hit and runs its just not worth it to me to leave it at home. $96 is cheap insurance for me.
May 11, 2016 | 5:28 pm
#210
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 42,599
http://kron4.com/2015/05/15/bart-rel...me-statistics/
"Drivers who leave their cars in BART parking lots are burglarized every 15 hours."
Although I've heard more recent stats, I couldn't easily find a link.
"Drivers who leave their cars in BART parking lots are burglarized every 15 hours."
Although I've heard more recent stats, I couldn't easily find a link.