airport ground transportation

Amex offering free Uber rides from 11 airports

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Uber app

Here’s a great perk for travelers who need a ride from the airport this holiday season.

Uber is partnering with American Express to give card members 2 free rides home (up to $65 a ride) from 11 different U.S. airports through December 31, 2016.

To get your ride credits, start your Uber trip one of these airports:

JFK International Airport

LaGuardia Airport

Newark Liberty International airport

Chicago O’Hare Airport

Chicago Midway

Dulles International Airport

Reagan Washington National Airport

Boston Logan Airport

Houston Bush International Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

McCarran International Airport – Las Vegas

Then: enter ‘AMEXAIRPORT’ in the promotions tab on the Uber iOS or Android app when you request a ride and make sure you’ve selected your American Express card as your method of payment.

The $65 will automatically be taken off the total cost of the ride when your trip has ended.

Amex Card Members (prepaid cards aren’t eligible) can redeem this offer for up two eligible rides during – for a total value of $130 – through December 31, 2016.

See more details here.

Travel Tidbits: Use Thanks Again points for an Uber ride

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Temporary sign at PIT Airport marks where Uber pick-ups are allowed.

Ride-hailing service Uber is making inroads at an increasing number of airports and, as you head off for that end-of-summer vacation, keep in mind that you can now use those Thanks Again points you’ve been earning for purchases you’ve made while stuck at the airport to pay for part of an Uber ride.

Earlier this month Thanks Again announced that program participants can redeem 500 Thanks Again points for a $10 Uber promotional code good toward rides – whether at the airport or in town.

What’s Thankgs Again? It’s a free program that lets you accumulate points for purchases (restaurants, shopping, services and, in many cases, parking) you make a more than 100 airports around the country. That’s on top of points/miles you might get for using your credit card in the first place.

Thanks Again program participants can redeem their points for a array of hotel and airline miles and even towards the  TSA Precheck registration fee.

You can download the Thanks Again App and earn 100 Thanks Again Points for enrolling on the Apple App Store or Google Play.  And if you haven’t yet signed up for Uber, use the “ThanksAgain2016” promotional code to get $15 off your first ride.

Free Uber rides for some Chicago travelers

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UBER ST PETE

Ride-hailing service, Uber, and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater have teamed up to offer some travelers free rides in Chicago.

On Wednesday mornings during February, starting at 6 a.m., Chicago Uber users will see a “Warm Up Wednesday” message in the app and a promotional code to unlock a way to request a free ride.

It should work at the airport because Uber is now authorized to serve both O’Hare and Midway Airports.

In addition to the offer for a free ride, every Uber rider who unlocks the promotional view is automatically entered to win one of four 4-night getaways for two, including airfare, to St. Pete/Clearwater.

And as a bonus: a handful of specially wrapped Uber cars will have virtual reality goggles on board, offering riders a chance to tour St. Pete/Clearwater’s Gulf beaches during their Chicago rides.

More ways to leave airports

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DENVER AIRPORT WESTIN HOTEL with TRAINS

Photo courtesy Denver International Airport

Good news from Las Vegas, Chicago and Denver for travelers seeking more options for getting to and from the airports.

On Monday, San Francisco-based Lyft became the first ride-hailing service authorized to provide service to and from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

https://twitter.com/LasVegasLyft/status/658717874006003712

To mark the milestone, Lyft’s website has a code (FLYLAS) good for $5 off two rides to or from the airport, valid for the next six months.

Ride-sharing heavyweight, Uber, has not yet cleared the airport’s permitting process, But the company says it is working on that.

Meanwhile, ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft and Sidecar will be able to legally offer pick-ups at O’Hare and Midway airports beginning in 2016. (The deal with the city also allows the companies to provide service at the McCormick Place convention center and Navy Pier.)

And April 22, 2016 has been set at the opening day for the new commuter rail line that will run between Denver International Airport and Denver’s downtown Union Station.

The Regional Transportation District’s new A Line will make the 23-mile run in an estimated 37 minutes.

Tickets will cost $9 one-way, but for that same $9, travelers will be able to purchase an Airport Day Pass that will allow unlimited bus and rail rides, including to and from the airport, for one day.