I booked an 8:45am flight to Las Vegas using the Oakland terminal. I usually book SFO because of the AMEX lounge, but Oakland Escape Lounge has a partnership with AMEX. I booked this later flight thinking it would give me enough time to get from Berkeley to Oakland Airport, but as I reasoned through the itinerary, BARTing from Berkeley to Oakland Airport would have been a rush. I woke up at 5:30am.
I booked a $100 La Quinta room on Hegenberger Road (the Airport's main road). I checked in about 2 hours before sleeptime, which was nice, I got to do my usual wind-down routine, so I had a great night of sleep.
The hardest decision I had to make in the morning was whether I was going to take the free La Quinta shuttle bus (at 7:15am) or take a $15 Lyft. I reasoned since I have TSA Pre-Check and Clear, I could afford to take the free shuttle bus, time-wise. The domestic airport maxim is "arrive 2 hours to check in." With Clear and TSA Pre-check, I got in through the security gates in 4 minutes. I had 30 minutes before my boarding time (8:15am).
With Clear and TSA Pre-Check, it took 30 minutes, as opposed to 2 hours.
I booked a $100 La Quinta room on Hegenberger Road (the Airport's main road). I checked in about 2 hours before sleeptime, which was nice, I got to do my usual wind-down routine, so I had a great night of sleep.
The hardest decision I had to make in the morning was whether I was going to take the free La Quinta shuttle bus (at 7:15am) or take a $15 Lyft. I reasoned since I have TSA Pre-Check and Clear, I could afford to take the free shuttle bus, time-wise. The domestic airport maxim is "arrive 2 hours to check in." With Clear and TSA Pre-check, I got in through the security gates in 4 minutes. I had 30 minutes before my boarding time (8:15am).
With Clear and TSA Pre-Check, it took 30 minutes, as opposed to 2 hours.