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Old May 3, 2013, 1:32 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: RichardInSF
Short term parking:
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
Cons:
  • 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
Cons:
  • 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.
Cons:
  • 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.)
Cons:
  • 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
Cons:
  • 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
Cons:
  • 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
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Old Sep 22, 2022 | 12:05 am
  #391  
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Originally Posted by MDtR-Chicago
Was just offered a discount again on the SFO official parking site. $16 off a booking for next week in Long Term Parking.
Was this a result of the standard discount when booking on the website ($21/day) vs. drive-up rate ($25/day)?
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Old Oct 29, 2022 | 3:37 pm
  #392  
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Originally Posted by KE81
To follow up on this—you CANNOT enter more than 4 hours before your scheduled start time. Found out the hard way today, but fortunately was able to cancel and rebook (albeit for the significantly higher rate).
Doesn't the 24-hour clock start ticking the when you enter? Or do they not count the 4 hours before as part of the original booking?

The best I've found is an ongoing promo code that gives $10 off a booking regardless of duration.
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Old Nov 6, 2022 | 2:30 pm
  #393  
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I entered about 45 minutes early but then a flight delay made me return a 1/2 day late and I had to pay $18 extra by CC at the exit gate. Now I know what happens when you go over your stay by a lot. I figured it might autfocharge my CC but this system makes sense.
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Old Nov 16, 2022 | 11:10 am
  #394  
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Originally Posted by emcampbe
was this just on the website, or was it sent to you.
Originally Posted by econ
Was this a result of the standard discount when booking on the website ($21/day) vs. drive-up rate ($25/day)?
This was on the website, no promo code or anything, just a "slash thru" on the price with a discount. Same way it was during the pandemic. But yes, it was the $21/day rate.

I could have sworn it was offering me $25/day on the website until this one booking where it offered $21 as a specific discount. But maybe I read it wrong.
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Old Mar 12, 2023 | 1:52 pm
  #395  
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Flying out on a Friday at 5:45 and get to home Sunday night at 20:45. This is 100% drive and park at the airport type of trip. $108 in either the domestic or the international garage.

Stupid expensive, but glad to see I can just park in the domestic garage. That will save a ton of time and no airtrain ride.

(Long term is $63 - but that 20 minute airtran ride works out to an extra 30 minutes of sleep at home - and thats the difference between getting up at 3:30 am vs 4am. ).
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Old Mar 12, 2023 | 8:01 pm
  #396  
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Regarding parking in the SFO walk-to-terminal domestic garage. Parked there last month and was annoyed to find all the space on Level 3 were taken - not a problem I had previously encountered. Then made the mistake of driving to level 4 which is basically off limits. (Level 5 is still carshare/limos AFAIK)

So in sum, my advice is to go directly to Level 2, do not pass go
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Old Mar 12, 2023 | 11:01 pm
  #397  
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Originally Posted by Boraxo

So in sum, my advice is to go directly to Level 2, do not pass go
flying out of T2, I can never remember which level, and its probably changed since I last parked there, but there is a level where you can park, and pretty much go up an escalator and pop out in baggage claim. Probably L2 or L1(?).

But yeah, the trick is to go down right away.

Before Uber, the trick was to park on the top.
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Old Mar 13, 2023 | 10:52 pm
  #398  
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Originally Posted by returnoftheyeti
but that 20 minute airtran ride works out to an extra 30 minutes of sleep at home - and thats the difference between getting up at 3:30 am vs 4am.
And getting home 30 min earlier when returning.

Originally Posted by Zorak
I did park at short term for a day trip (if you have previously parked with them, you get a post-trip survey after which you get a non-personalized coupon code SFOThankYou good for $10 off which helps a bit with the above prices)
Looks like this finally dried up. Anyone else getting post-trip survey requests with discount codes? I'm guessing demand is back to a point that they don't need to provide discounts.
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Old Mar 13, 2023 | 11:45 pm
  #399  
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Originally Posted by econ
And getting home 30 min earlier when returning.



Looks like this finally dried up. Anyone else getting post-trip survey requests with discount codes? I'm guessing demand is back to a point that they don't need to provide discounts.
I have always seemed to be able to successfully use it (until some point).tried it for a trip I think in Dec. and didnt work anymore. I think Ive used it even when not filling in a survey, so either they are limiting use (by account, perhaps) or just expired it.

long gone are the days of the pandemic when it was get a free half day for every paid day.that was fun while it lasted. When they raised the rate to $21/day, thats when I started primarily Im using ParkSFO, except for very short 1-2 day trips.
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Old Mar 14, 2023 | 11:23 am
  #400  
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Originally Posted by emcampbe
I have always seemed to be able to successfully use it (until some point).tried it for a trip I think in Dec. and didnt work anymore. I think Ive used it even when not filling in a survey, so either they are limiting use (by account, perhaps) or just expired it.
They extended the expiration a few times with the same code. It was still usable though December, with bookings through January, IIRC.

But I havent gotten another survey email the last few trips.
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Old Mar 17, 2023 | 6:01 pm
  #401  
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Can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere--does Fastrak still work for parking at SFO?

Also, any tips to get some EV charging to boot?
https://www.flysfo.com/passengers/pa...n-electric-car

Last edited by SamirD; Mar 17, 2023 at 6:02 pm Reason: ev!
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Old Mar 17, 2023 | 6:34 pm
  #402  
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Originally Posted by SamirD
Can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere--does Fastrak still work for parking at SFO?

Also, any tips to get some EV charging to boot?
https://www.flysfo.com/passengers/pa...n-electric-car
Don't know the Fastrak question.

My experiences with EV charging (J1772) are:

- at various times in 2021, I tried parking in long term. All the modern charging equipment, L2 etc. is in the newer garage. The old garage has spaces dedicated to EVs, but they are all wall plugs and you have to bring your own cable. And I don't know if I was always flying at peak times or what but the handful of times I tried, the new garage was coned off and they were directing all incoming traffic to the old garage. I could simply have brought my own cable, but... maybe things have changed since I last tried though.

- in short term, have never had any problem getting a spot; the only gripe here is that the charging locations are all on the ground floor, which can be annoying if you prepay because then you can only enter on the... 3rd? floor and so you have to go down the circular ramp several levels to get to the charging station and then back up again to exit when you leave. #FWP

Factoring in the duration of the train ride from long term to the terminal, the strategy I ended up with was to take Caltrain or 398 or rideshare to get to the airport for long term trips and so I didn't care about EV charging anyway, and for 2-3 day trips the extra cost of short term vs. long term isn't *so* bad...
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Last edited by Zorak; Mar 17, 2023 at 6:46 pm
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Old Mar 17, 2023 | 6:43 pm
  #403  
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Originally Posted by Zorak
Don't know the Fastrak question.

My experiences with EV charging (J1772) are:

- at various times in 2021, I tried parking in long term. All the modern charging equipment, L2 etc. is in the newer garage. The old garages have spaces dedicated to EVs, but they are all wall plugs and you have to bring your own cable. And I don't know if I was always flying at peak times or what but the handful of times I tried, the new garage was coned off and they were directing all incoming traffic to the old garage. I could simply have brought my own cable, but... maybe things have changed since I last tried though.

- in short term, have never had any problem getting a spot; the only gripe here is that the charging locations are all on the ground floor, which can be annoying if you prepay because then you can only enter on the... 3rd? floor and so you have to go down the circular ramp several levels to get to the charging station and then back up again to exit when you leave. #FWP

Factoring in the duration of the train ride from long term to the terminal, the strategy I ended up with was to take Caltrain or 398 or rideshare to get to the airport for long term trips and so I didn't care about EV charging anyway, and for 2-3 day trips the extra cost of short term vs. long term isn't *so* bad...
Thank you so much for the details! I too remember when the other garage was closed off.

The chargepoint chargers are supposed to be free, but would one need an account for that to start charging? I really like HSV's setup with clippercreek chargers--just plug-in and be done.
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Old Mar 17, 2023 | 6:46 pm
  #404  
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Originally Posted by SamirD
The chargepoint chargers are supposed to be free, but would one need an account for that to start charging? I really like HSV's setup with clippercreek chargers--just plug-in and be done.
You do need a ChargePoint account and tap your phone to start charging, but there is no cost for the charging itself, just the usual cost of parking at the garage.
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Old Mar 17, 2023 | 6:53 pm
  #405  
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Originally Posted by Zorak
You do need a ChargePoint account and tap your phone to start charging, but there is no cost for the charging itself, just the usual cost of parking at the garage.
Ah, another company that wants to hook into my phone and wallet. I really hate that $%#$....

I checked out the chargepoint site and it seems there nearly no charging points available anyways atm. I'll play with it sometime when the wife and I are both traveling since she loads up on all the apps, lol.

Thank you for all the details! Probably saved me 30 minutes of frustration, lol.
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