Tag Archives: Uber

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Keep, Cancel or Convert? Laura’s American Express Gold Card ($325 Annual Fee)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few days ago, I was reviewing our recent credit card statements and saw that the $325 annual fee posted to Laura’s American Express Gold Card.  We discussed the card benefits and decided it wasn’t worth prepaying $325 in order to jump through all of these hoops to earn back the $325 annual fee.  As a reminder, here are the coupons statement credits on this card:

  • $10 Uber / Uber Eats credit each month ($120 total)
  • $10 Grubhub credit each month ($120 total)
  • $7 Dunkin credit each month ($84 total)
  • $50 Resy credit every 6 months (launched in July 2024, so only $50 total in 2024)

Even though we did receive all of these credits in 2024, I would not value them close to $374.  In order to receive all of those credits, we had to jump through 37 hoops throughout the year.  We are still sitting on $28 of Dunkin credit (the nearest Dunkin in about 40 miles away) and we have a $50 restaurant gift card for a nearby Resy restaurant that we bought at the end of December.

Also, we were not using the card for 4x at restaurants and 4x on groceries.  I have plenty of AMEX MR Points, so we were using 2 Citi Custom Cash Credit Cards for 5x at restaurants and 5x on groceries.  Then in 2025, we switched to using the Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card for 5x on groceries ($1,500 quarterly max) and the Discover It Credit Card for 5x at restaurants ($1,500 quarterly max).

a screenshot of a credit card

In addition, we decided to transfer all 150,000 of Laura’s AMEX MR Points to her Hawaiian Airlines account, then she transferred them to my Hawaiian Airlines account and then I moved them to my Alaska Airlines account (read more about that process here).  The next step was to contact AMEX via Online Chat to close the card…

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Are You A Typical Rideshare Customer?

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A new survey of rideshare passengers just came out, and I have to say some of the findings surprised me. The survey, done by Bellhop, Rideguru, and our very own rideshare man-in-the-know, Harry Campbell, The Rideshare Guy, wanted to know whether people felt if and how ridesharing was improving their quality of life.

The survey refers to rideshare as “mobility options”, which is a new term for me as it relates to ridesharing. The survey included both taxi or other services in the same general category of mobility options. Of course, surveys are always a bit suspect because it depends on how questions are worded and how terms are defined. In this case I wish some of the survey terms such as “better life” were more clearly defined. However, taking all this into consideration, if you use ridesharing services it’s interesting to see if you fit into the same categories as the respondents or not. And if like me you rarely use these services but are curious about the business end of them, the survey and article is a quick and easy read and a good glimpse into rideshare customer experience.

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New York City Limits Ride-Hailing Services

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Did you know that New York City just became the first major U.S. city to limit ride-hailing services? This news grabbed my attention because of something that happened the last time I was in NYC. As I was walking by City Hall I noticed that it was sealed off. On the front steps a protest was in progress. I saw press coverage and someone was making a speech. I walked around the park for a bit and then as I was leaving the area I saw one of the protestors with a man I assumed was a politician. They were being interviewed by a television station. It was the tail end of the interview so I didn’t catch much. The protest signs said something about taxi drivers committing suicide, but not living in New York City I had no idea what this meant or what story it was referencing. I meant to do some research but forgot about it.

Uber/Lyft car in NYC

Image source: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/09/637008474/new-york-city-temporarily-halts-more-uber-and-lyft-cars-on-the-road

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A Curious Question for Taxi Drivers

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If I were a taxi driver, there’s one question I would ask every passenger who got into my taxi: “Why aren’t you using Uber or Lyft?” This may seem like an odd question, but hear me out.  I rarely use Uber or Lyft. When I travel, I walk or use mass transit as much as I can. As you might recall, I do have a taxi service I use to get to the airport, and only on rare occasions have I had anything but good experiences with this service. They charge me a flat fee that’s as good as or better than Uber/Lyft. Continue reading →

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Win a Free Copy of The Rideshare Guide by Uber/Lyft Guru Harry Campbell

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Updated 8/3 at 6am: Here are the 2 winners, selected at random:

  • Brent Young said, “Keep handy window cleaner, and leather cleaner to protect your seats (if you have leather). Riders love a clean car. As a driver, I don’t accept rides that are more than 8 min away (in suburbs). In the city I would not accept anything greater than 5 min away. I have not worked rural areas yet. Tend to lose money on all others that take longer to get to.“
  • Michael H said, “ALWAYS Be polite.“

Have you ever thought of driving for Uber or Lyft? Maybe you are already a driver! If so, I’ve got a great giveaway for you. Our Uber insider, Harry Campbell, who keeps TWG readers up-to-date on all things Uber, has a new book out called The Rideshare Guide, and I’m giving away a few copies.

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