“He went a step farther and did something I didn’t: he checked Uber prices “with someone else’s phone” who did not have a balance in their Uber account – and Uber was pricing the route at the usual $20 for them.”
A reader’s regular ride ran about $20. He loaded $250 in Uber credit and the same trip jumped to $30. Another phone with no balance still saw $20, and Lyft still charged $20. Uber sells you prepaid credit at face value, then reprices the ride because it knows that money can’t go anywhere else.