Bump, I'm still using lyft almost exclusively. I'm enjoying the $5 credit for five business profile rides, but I'm wondering if Uber benefits are better (lyft also deposits DL skymiles, but the numbers are small enough that I don't really consider them when evaluating which service to use). I do enough spend to qualify pretty quickly for diamond.

Uber Rewards get you 2% back on Uber X, 3% back on Uber Black, and 1% back on Uber Pool or Uber Eats.

So, if Lyft is giving you $1/ride in credit, then you'd need to be averaging $50/ride (if they're Uber X) or $33/ride (if they're Uber Black) to break even.

Anyone else get an email today about changes to the Rewards program? The $5 credit earned every 500 points is no longer automatic. You will have to go into the app and select the $5 UberCash credit among other options. (25% off next UberX ride, 15% off next UberEATS order, free delivery on two UberEATS orders or the $5 UberCash).

Effective 01 November you must choose your reward within 28 days of earning it.

Looks like another enhancement to increase breakage.

The select-a-reward has been the case for me for the past year or so now. I think they’re gambling on users to pick the ones that “sound good” but offer less value or pick the ones that seem like a good value but require a higher spend to take full advantage of it. I generally will pick the $5 credit unless I know my next ride will be long or if I know that I will be ordering from ubereats soon.

Probably combo of breakage and misapplication. These other benefits can certainly be worth more than $5 (discount if your ride is >$20, discount if your UberEats order is >$33.33, for example), but by not having it be automatic, people will forget to apply them, or apply them to rides/food orders of lower value.

Level Points Earning Period changed
 

Has anyone noticed that the Earning Period dates have changed? As recently as one week ago my App showed “Earning Period Sep 1 - Mar 1”. Now it shows “Earning Period Sep 2 - Mar 1”. Uber is retroactively changing the start of the earning period.

Why this is notable is, I placed a large ($100) Uber Eats order on Sep 1 that did not (but should have) accrue Level Points to the current Earning Period. I’ve checked the numbers and the transaction is still not included in my current Earning Period Level Points.

I opened a help case about the issue, and was summarily ignored. If I didn’t have that order on Sep 1, I wouldn’t care and possibly wouldn’t have even noticed. But as it stands this smacks of piss-poor underhanded business practice.

I don't think they specifically did it to you, as mine was bumped forward a day as well, but it's still sleazy and I hope you screenshotted the previous earning period showing that it started on Sep 1.

"Uber Rewards has gone international" - but not really
 

As an Uber user based in Canada, I'd got the initial email for the Rewards program, but wasn't able to join being located in Canada. Received an e-mail today that Uber Rewards has "gone international" with the tagline "Points without borders," so I figured I'd be able to sign up now. The link to sign up wouldn't work, and I couldn't find anywhere in the app to sign up, so eventually I looked up the program terms, and in order to be a member, you still need to reside in the US and there isn't a program listed for Canada.

Definitely very poor targeting of their emails, and somewhat misleading wording advertising to their customers outside the US that they've gone international and inviting them to sign up when they're not eligible.

I just found this thread as I was just invited to join the rewards program. I was put automatically at the Gold level and I've taken a few rides and earned 69 points. My question is how does this fit with Uber VIP which I have via Amex. With VIP I often get random upgrades but I hope that doesn't stop because I joined this program as Gold?

I am also a Canadian Uber user and while I was in a major American city this past week I was able to sign up for their rewards program from the app.

I believe you can be both at the same time. I find as gold I get better offers; I have used the penalty-free cancel-and-rebook feature once.

Did Uber devalue the rewards program in some cities? As a platinum in the SF Bay Area, I see that price protection and flexible cancellations are said to be unavailable in my city.

They have now become unavailable as part of their response to the new California legislation (we'll also see an estimated price range for the ride instead of a fixed amount for non-Pool rides).