How You Can Use Freebird to Get Cheaper Uber and Lyft Rides

You might earn cash back or rewards points for booking airfare, shopping, dining, or filling up the tank, but have you considered the possibility that you could earn rewards from your Uber and Lyft rides? There are a couple of clever ways to do that, and Freebird is a great way to get started.

Freebird is an app that is available for iPhone or Android, and once you link Freebird with your Uber or Lyft profiles, you can earn rewards in a couple of different ways. First, Freebird interfaces with a variety of businesses (mostly restaurants and bars) who are willing to compensate you for your ride once you make a transaction at their venue. In other words, if you’re headed to the bar and that bar is willing to front $10 towards your Uber or Lyft there, all you have to do is make a purchase at the bar and you’ll be compensated up to $10. It’s kind of like the modern equivalent of parking validation, and there isn’t a spending minimum in order to be eligible for the cash back.

If the venue doesn’t offer cash back options, you can still earn rewards for your ride in the form of Freebird points. In the future, Freebird may provide a suite of different options for redeeming your points but for now, you can convert those points into cash.

Signing up for Freebird is easy. Simply download Freebird from the App Store or Google Play, allow the app to access your location, and link your Uber and Lyft accounts. Once you’re linked, you can start searching for rides directly through the Freebird app.

One cool thing that Freebird offers is a neighborhood search option which allows you to explore venues around a certain area, and not only see what’s available but see where you can maximize your cash back options. Then you can select a venue and call for a ride right from the Freebird home screen.

Like most rewards programs, Freebird offers a sign-up bonus. You’ll get 500 points each for activating your Uber and Lyft accounts (so it pays to have both) and then an additional 500 points for activating your Freebird account. That’s a possible total of 1,500 points, which comes out to a couple of bucks in cash back since it costs 5,000 points for a $10 points redemption. (My code is qa561 if you want to use it!)

It’s important to understand that you’ll need to request rides through Freebird in order to earn rewards, not Uber or Lyft. Freebird is linked to your Uber and Lyft accounts, but the Uber and Lyft apps are not linked the other way to Freebird. If you call a ride through Uber or Lyft apps, it won’t be tracked on your Freebird app and you won’t be entitled to the cash back or rewards points. Make sure you remember to call rides through Freebird if you want to take advantage of the rewards!

If you’re looking for extra ways to earn cash back, definitely take advantage of the Freebird referral program. For every friend you refer to Freebird, you’ll both get a $10 cash back bonus after your friend takes their first ride. This is especially beneficial if you live in a place where Uber and Lyft are prevalent and helpful because there is no cap on the number of times you can send your referral code to your friends and, consequently, no cap on the amount of cash back rewards you can earn this way. If you think your friends could benefit from Freebird, make sure to send them your referral code so that you both can start earning rewards!

While Freebird might seem like a frivolous way to earn some bonus cash by doing something that you likely do anyway, there are definitely a few very important side effects of incentivizing users to participate in ride shares. One of the side campaigns that have emerged from Freebird is the Safe Ride Home campaign, which is sponsored by Don Julio and is meant to help users get home safely after a night at the bar.

The promotion, which has become a staple of the app, allows users to earn $5 cash back or 500 points (worth $1) for using Uber or Lyft to get home. To take advantage of this bonus, simply select “Ride Home by Don Julio” when you are close to a bar or restaurant.

Note that there are only so many $5 bonuses available per night, and after that, users will be able to take advantage of the 500 point bonus. Also, we have heard from some users that the promotion seems to be unavailable consistently in regions with a high volume of customers, so if that happens to you, be sure to reach out to support and hopefully they will be able to help.

Freebird is a great way to earn a few rewards for simply using Uber and Lyft as you do anyway.

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