Ride-hailing giant Uber is unveiling a new loyalty program in nine cities across the U.S. — including San Diego — to incentivize its customers to come back more frequently.
The news comes just two days after Lyft announced a similar program, but Uber’s is already live (suggesting this may have been in the works a bit longer). The program, called Uber Rewards, allows users to earn points for every dollar they spend across Uber products, including its food delivery app Uber Eats and its flagship ride-hailing app. The points can be traded in for credits, which can be spent on rides or food orders. It takes 500 points to earn $5. The points can also bump users into new membership tiers, unlocking extra benefits like flexible cancellations, surprise upgrades, and priority pickup that reduces wait times, among other perks.
Once in the program, users earn one point for every dollar spent on UberPool and Uber Eats orders; two points for deluxe rides like UberX and UberXL; and three points for luxury Uber Black and Black SUV.
The program rolls out in nine cities to start: Miami, New Jersey, Denver, Tampa, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Diego.
The Uber Rewards program follows the announcement of a similar initiative by Lyft on Monday. Lyft Rewards, which launches in December, is a program that also allows riders to earn points. These points accumulate over time and can be used for upgrades or discounts on future rides. Lyft didn’t divulge many details earlier this week, but did say it’s considering how to offer other perks such as access to more experienced drivers and double-points days. The company says the program will launch in December 2018 — available to select riders in various cities to start — before rolling out to more riders in 2019.
Original content found: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-uber-rewards-lyft-20181114-story.html