Uber, the world’s largest ride-hailing company, is ending its free loyalty programme, Uber Rewards, in order to concentrate on its membership-based Uber One service.
As a kind of frequent flier programme, Uber originally introduced the rewards programme in 2018 and allowed users to accrue points for each dollar spent on trips or Uber Eats delivery. These points might then be applied to future deliveries or rides to receive discounts. Uber launched Uber One in November 2021, offering subscriber’s benefits including 5% off select rides or delivery orders and limitless $0 delivery costs on restaurant purchases over $15 and shopping goods over $30 for $9.99 per month or $99.99 yearly.
Customers may still earn points through the legacy rewards programme through the end of August, according to an email from Uber that was obtained by The Verge, and they can utilise those points through October 31. Uber Rewards will end permanently on November 1, 2022, according to a corporate update.
Users may receive one point for every dollar spent on Uber Pool, two points for every dollar spent on UberX, and three points for every dollar spent on Premium through the Uber Rewards programme. Members are classified into several loyalty tiers based on the number of points they have accrued, from Blue to Gold to Platinum to Diamond. The latter confers advantages including access to highly rated drivers, free delivery on three Uber Eats orders, improved customer support, and free upgrades.
While phone help will still be available to Diamond customers, paying a monthly fee is now the sole way to benefit from further Uber benefits. Existing Rewards members will receive a free month’s worth of access to Uber One before having to pay. If you use Uber Eats more than twice per month, you may easily break even with the Uber One membership; nevertheless, many consumers may not experience the cost-saving advantages of the change.
Uber declined to quickly provide an explanation for why it is discontinuing the Rewards programme in favour of the Uber One subscription. It’s possible that the business believes a subscription service would yield higher returns because it did not see the program’s benefits in terms of customer loyalty and returns.
