Astrophsx

What to link Uber with:

• Link Uber with SPG and stay once to get 1 point for every 2 dollars (base earning rate). This will be going away at the end of 2017.
• Link Ibotta app on your phone to earn $1 per ride (only 1 out of 10 seem to post for me in my first week of using)
• Link Shop Your Way to earn $2 in credit for every ride

How to save on trips:

• Follow Doctor of credit to be informed when Walmart, Amazon, or Paypal Digital Gifts sell Uber gift cards for 10-20% off.
• If you have an Ink Chase card that is a Mastercard you can purchase your Uber gift cards through Paypal and earn 5x points

Travel "hacks" and tips using the Uber Ride Pass:

• Always request a second rider when riding pool. Tell the driver you are paying for a second rider so it doesn't get too full. This at a very minimum will give you extra room, remove the chance of picking up a 4th passenger, and potentially decrease the chance of picking up extra riders. This may also potentially give the driver a minute increase in payout. (in San Diego Uber drivers are given 60 cents per extra pickup, maybe per passenger). Just make sure that if it is a surge rate it doesn't push you over the limit and you get charged extra for the second rider.
• Certain time of days in the San Diego area are less likely to get an additional Pool rider. Riding before 7am and then catching a return trip home from work before 3:30pm work great.
• Tell the driver your preferred route before another passenger is added. After taking a few hundred routes I've noticed that Uber likes to route drivers through areas more likely to get a second rider that are on the way to your destination. I like to take the most efficient route and try to figure out the one less likely to pick up another passenger.
• Uber Ride Passes are targeted in San Diego. It seems if you have an .edu email address or a large corporation you are more likely to be targeted. So if you have access to either, I'd suggest putting that email as your primary if you want to increase your odds.
• Select the auto-renew so that you get the Ride Pass for three months. Even if one month you don't plan on using it much, it's better to pay the $20 for the pass and keep it for the next month. It will pay for its self.

Other tips:

• Set your receipts to be emailed to you and review them each day. I would say at least 15% of the time Uber messes up the charge.
• Riding every day you will find yourself with a number of bad drivers. If you encounter a bad driver report them to Uber so that you can ensure you do not get matched with the driver again.
• Riding every day you will find some drivers have dangerous driving habits. You should report any driver holding their phone while driving or accessing social media/email.
• You can now pull up a driver's profile after being matched. It will show the number of rides given and how long they've been with Uber.
• Uber has been changing how they charge for when you cancel an Uber Pool. It use to be $2, but they seem to have added a 60 second grace period recently and also allow you to cancel if it will take your Uber longer than expected to pick you up.

Let me know if you have anything to add or change.

Miami305

These are terrible suggestions that are sometimes just flat out wrong, and at best, just make you the exact type of passenger Uber drivers despise. The guy who wants to pay economy prices, but expects first class service.

Individually, the issues with your statements in bold:

Points Scrounger

The other day, I took an UBER Pool ride. The driver informed me that he gets perhaps a couple of bucks extra for a pool trip as opposed to what he would get had he been driving a single passenger. UBER supposedly receives roughly the same gross revenue, so the big benefit is to the passengers who can split the cost between them.

Astrophsx

These aren't terrible suggestions. In fact, you've responded with incorrect information.

It is a fact that Uber drivers are paid $0.60 for each additional passenger picked up during a Pool journey. That is the basis that adding a second passenger on your ride may potentially give the driver an increased payout. Not being an Uber driver I am taking an educated guess as I don't know if the $0.60 is applied to a second rider or per pickup along the journey.

To be honest your comments come off rude and not backed by any evidence. Saying that Uber drivers hate people telling them to do their job? Really? I'm the customer and there is no rule against requesting a particular routing. In fact, as a daily rider a majority of drivers ask my preferred route. The Uber app is sometimes terrible at routing, hence why many drivers utilize Waze or Google maps for routing.

Also, point out where I expect 1st class service. Is wanting a driver not to hold their phone in their hand while driving an expectation of 1st class service? LOL

Uber drivers are not going out of their way to pick up more rider, the UBER APP is the one who does the "fishing" for more riders by routing through areas that take more time to drive through but are more likely to get a another Pool rider. There is nothing against the T&C's for requesting a preferred routing. In fact, many on Flyertalk have pointed out that Uber sometimes gives you a longer route in order to make more money.

Kind of ironic that you are trying to call me out on incorrect information when you post false information. The only one that might have any leg to stand on is the 3 star rating to not get matched again. This information was suggested by a major website, but you may be correct in having to actually message Uber help to not get matched.

Astrophsx

Uber drivers typically make 10% less on Uber Pool trips, but have less down time. This can be important during slow periods of the day from what I've been told.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...926-story.html

The article points out in San Diego (where I live) they make 60 cents per additional pickup.

Miami305

What's your Uber passenger rating?

Take a picture of your rating with this forum in the background.

I'm happy to eat crow if I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to bet you are <4.8.

Astrophsx

My rating is a 4.87. I believe I have 300-400+ rides.

nd2010

The driver may listen to your route suggestions but does not have to follow it for Pool. Want control over the route? Use Uber X

cestmoi123

For Pool, I believe they're not SUPPOSED to follow your suggestions, but rather to take the Pool route. I know that, when I use Pool, the route on the Uber app is different from the route (same start and endpoint) when I use UberX, since the more direct route (which is in the app and the driver's GPS when I use UberX) makes getting another passenger along the way highly unlikely.

Astrophsx

I wasn't aware of any rules against deviating from the pool route as long as you were the only passenger and change your routing once another passenger has requested a ride. Many drivers prefer to get their directions from Waze or Google Maps, which can have different routes than what is shown by the Uber app.

cestmoi123

Honestly, I don't know. I certainly see that the Uber app shows the driver a different route if I'm using X (mostly highway) vs. Pool (all surface streets). Sometimes they ignore it, sometimes, they don't.

Points Scrounger

Using this thread to remind people that one cannot stack Uber promotions. According to the rep I contacted yesterday, only the most recently applied promo counts, it overrides any still-active earlier ones.

Astrophsx

This is just based off my experience. The reps tell you what the policies are, but not necessarily what is true to life. I receive $2 to $4 SYW points for about 95% of my rides and the $1 Ibotta reward almost 100% of the time when I click the app within 3 hours of a ride. Beyond that, all these rides have been taken using the Uber Pass. The SWY award customer service will tell you that the promo doesn't work with Uber Pool rides, but yet they post.

Points Scrounger

I had asked why I didn't get credit for a certain promotion on a recent ride, being told that the other one "came first." On the other hand, Lyftline rides are specifically excluded from Jet Blue credit; I got it anyway.

Tino

ibotta is not a sure thing. The Uber promo has never even been visible in my account under the list of vendors, and I have been a member for almost a year. After I contacted ibotta, I was given this response:

"After a review of your account, you are not eligible for the Uber promotion." I am guessing that they cross-referenced my phone number with Uber (account rating: 4.92, over 500 rides) and saw that there are some months where I have 50+ Uber rides. There is no way they are going to just offer me free money for something I am already spending heaps of money on.

On the other hand, I am always looking for Uber gift cards with big discounts. Any links?