Recently moved from bay area to LA and as much as I don't wanna admit it, i'll keep coming back to this world every so often.  

Saw 3 or so kgals over 6 year span in bay area and wondered if they could serve as  reference? Actually looking to move up in price range and wondered if anyone outside aamp world takes references from them.

Don't participate enough to really justify spending all the money for online VIP accounts so thinking previous experience should suffice?

Some women and agencies are happy to give a reference, some will only provide a reference to companions/agencies they know personally, and some won't provide a reference at all. You'd have to ask the particular aamp booker. However, if it's been longer that 6-12 months since you've seen whoever is giving the reference, most ladies won't accept an older reference.  
That doesn't mean you need to shell out for a VIP account; in fact, without "okays"/references most women will still want personal info in addition to the VIP account. However, anyone who is newbie friendly will have options to screen you without a reference, via personal information, employment verification, etc.

.... there is no such thing as newbie friendly. Either you have the right references or you don't. The bookers don't operate like regular provider bookers. The k-girl is a world of its own and is very difficult to break into as a client. Even if you have a history as a client and take a break from it  for awhile you have to start all over again. Many just give up.

are the same as no references, so he's starting over.  

I might reach out to the couple I've seen in the last year to see if they'd provide references. "Luckily", I guess, I saw 2 in the last year and about 2/3 more over the stretch of the last 5 years, so maybe my recent weakness will work to my advantage?

I went ahead and left reviews. Now I just gotta decide if I wanna put the time into breaking into the kgirl scene down here or the general one. I'm interested in the more 'general' scene as it'll be new, but worried if service might lack a bit compared to previous encounters.

Is the price increase just due to ethnicity? I had fun with ladies I saw in bay area, as they were all in nicer apt complexes and gave what I understand to be professional level service (mutual showers, full menu, mult pops, massage, clean setting, great bodies). Guess language was a barrier, but chatting really wasn't my first priority

Anybody wanna talk me into the 2/300 price increase down here? LA seems to be ripe with choice and just figuring out where to direct myself if it's gonna take some time to break the ice.