Uber Rewards Devaluation
Jun 13, 20, 6:59 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: Delta Plat, United Gold, American Gold, Wyndham Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,493
Uber Rewards Devaluation
I went to select my reward today and noticed that they really devalued the rewards.
At Platinum level, the rewards (in my area) are:
BEFORE: Feeding America Donation
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Driver/family education fund
NOW: No change
BEFORE: 30% off your next two Uber Eats orders of $20 or more, up to $15 discount
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Eats order, up to $7 discount
BEFORE: Free delivery on two Uber Eats orders
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Get highly rated drivers for two weeks
NOW: Useless since there aren't enough drivers on the road to meet demand
BEFORE: 15% off your next UberX, Pool, or ExpressPool ride up to $7 discount
NOW: Only useful for UberX since the pool options are suspended
BEFORE: N/A
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Comfort ride up to $10 discount
BEFORE: $5 Uber Cash
NOW: Gone
At Platinum level, the rewards (in my area) are:
BEFORE: Feeding America Donation
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Driver/family education fund
NOW: No change
BEFORE: 30% off your next two Uber Eats orders of $20 or more, up to $15 discount
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Eats order, up to $7 discount
BEFORE: Free delivery on two Uber Eats orders
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Get highly rated drivers for two weeks
NOW: Useless since there aren't enough drivers on the road to meet demand
BEFORE: 15% off your next UberX, Pool, or ExpressPool ride up to $7 discount
NOW: Only useful for UberX since the pool options are suspended
BEFORE: N/A
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Comfort ride up to $10 discount
BEFORE: $5 Uber Cash
NOW: Gone
Jun 22, 20, 11:34 pm
#3
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LAS
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Spire, Hertz President's Circle, Uber Platinum
Posts: 116
Uber is doing what they must to do to survive
I went to select my reward today and noticed that they really devalued the rewards.
At Platinum level, the rewards (in my area) are:
BEFORE: Feeding America Donation
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Driver/family education fund
NOW: No change
BEFORE: 30% off your next two Uber Eats orders of $20 or more, up to $15 discount
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Eats order, up to $7 discount
BEFORE: Free delivery on two Uber Eats orders
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Get highly rated drivers for two weeks
NOW: Useless since there aren't enough drivers on the road to meet demand
BEFORE: 15% off your next UberX, Pool, or ExpressPool ride up to $7 discount
NOW: Only useful for UberX since the pool options are suspended
BEFORE: N/A
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Comfort ride up to $10 discount
BEFORE: $5 Uber Cash
NOW: Gone
At Platinum level, the rewards (in my area) are:
BEFORE: Feeding America Donation
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Driver/family education fund
NOW: No change
BEFORE: 30% off your next two Uber Eats orders of $20 or more, up to $15 discount
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Eats order, up to $7 discount
BEFORE: Free delivery on two Uber Eats orders
NOW: No change
BEFORE: Get highly rated drivers for two weeks
NOW: Useless since there aren't enough drivers on the road to meet demand
BEFORE: 15% off your next UberX, Pool, or ExpressPool ride up to $7 discount
NOW: Only useful for UberX since the pool options are suspended
BEFORE: N/A
NOW: 15% off your next Uber Comfort ride up to $10 discount
BEFORE: $5 Uber Cash
NOW: Gone
My weekly travel abruptly ended on March 12, 2020 and I haven't taken a plane or Uber ride since. If and when I resume traveling I'll most likely resume using Uber without regard to the benefit reduction. I find the service convenient and more economical than car rental or traditional taxis. I used to make a 5% profit on my reimbursed rides by prepaying Uber cash for a 5% discount. Loss of that isn't enough to make me abandon them.
OP, please imagine a world without Uber. That would be far more expensive to you than the loss of benefits you're unhappy with. Give them your business so they can survive. And cut them some slack in a crisis.
Jun 23, 20, 4:43 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: Delta Plat, United Gold, American Gold, Wyndham Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,493
Oh, don't worry, I'm giving Uber plenty of business. I'm almost willing to bet money on Lyft not survivng though. Lyft's customer service has been giving all sorts of excuses for shortcomings and bad driver behavior, plus, they don't have a food delivery service to pad their losses.
Last edited by diburning; Jun 24, 20 at 3:47 am
Jun 23, 20, 10:48 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 37,804
Jun 24, 20, 3:45 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: Delta Plat, United Gold, American Gold, Wyndham Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,493
You would think so, but last week, they gave me a deal where if I placed two Uber Eats orders in a week, I would then get two 50% off promos (up to $15) that last for two weeks. I would have been ok with just the five bucks, but hey, $15 off a $30 order (twice) is not a bad deal at all.
Jun 29, 20, 2:12 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: SFO/SJC, JFK
Programs: United 1K 2MM - Jet Blue Mosaic - Hyatt LTG - Marriott Plat - Hertz PC
Posts: 205
UberEats has been very aggressive with 30=50% off promos for me so I am surprised they got rid of the $5 UberCash option. I acknowledge that these promos may be targeted but I use the service a lot as it is so a bit odd that they would target me.
Jul 2, 20, 8:33 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, AA ExecPlat, Amtrak Select Exec, former WN apologist
Posts: 1,347
The removal of Uber Cash option kills most of the value of this program for me. I saw an article on this: https://thepointsguy.com/news/uber-rewards-devaluation/ which includes this gem:
Yeah, right, I bet users were complaining in droves about the option to redeem for Uber Cash. I guess Uber has officially come of age as a faceless corporation if they are using BS corporate-speak to spin the removal of a benefit as "listening to their customers". 
Honestly, if they had just said, "times are tight, we need to manage cashflow, we'll re-evaluate later", I would have given them the benefit of the doubt. Instead, I'll be researching to see if Lyft has a decent rewards program.
Note: After this article was originally published, an Uber spokesperson reached out to TPG to clarify that this decision was not tied to the companys financial position and provided the following statement: After thoughtful consideration, we made the decision to sunset the $5 Uber Cash benefit in the U.S. starting in late 2019. Users told us that Uber Cash was a less popular option for every 500 points earned and that they wanted more choice, which is why we expanded to include ride and Eats discounts, partner benefits like access to Apple News, free food items, and a large focus on donations per these challenging times. We remain committed to Uber Rewards and recognizing riders for choosing our service.
Honestly, if they had just said, "times are tight, we need to manage cashflow, we'll re-evaluate later", I would have given them the benefit of the doubt. Instead, I'll be researching to see if Lyft has a decent rewards program.
Jul 3, 20, 1:44 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: Delta Plat, United Gold, American Gold, Wyndham Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,493
Uber has always operated on the concepts of "disruption" and "do it now, negotiate later after we get everyone to use our product, so that it becomes political suicide to try to regulate us." There isn't a single honest thing that "technology companies" like Uber will do.
No, Lyft does not have a rewards program at all. However, Lyft has partners like Delta, Hilton, and Rakuten that will give points/cash back on rides, and it's very triple-dippable.
No, Lyft does not have a rewards program at all. However, Lyft has partners like Delta, Hilton, and Rakuten that will give points/cash back on rides, and it's very triple-dippable.
Jul 6, 20, 2:52 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: Delta Plat, United Gold, American Gold, Wyndham Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,493
Uber Cash does not expire. You can use it for rides or Uber Eats. Since Uber gift card redemptions take the form of Uber Cash, they can't have an expiration without swift enforcement action from more than a handful of US states which have regulations against the expiration of gift cards/certificates.
Jul 17, 20, 6:45 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: Delta Plat, United Gold, American Gold, Wyndham Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,493
They added a new reward: 25% off your next UberEats order, minimum order of $40 and maximum discount of $15 (so the discount is on a $60 maximum purchase)
Nov 23, 20, 10:09 pm
#15
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Charleston, SC, USA
Programs: Avis Pref+, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Life Gold, Honors Silver, IHG Plat via MC.
Posts: 6,781
I already double-dip with Delta & Hilton on my Lyft rides, but I never heard of earning Rakuten until now. Thanks, I just checked it out on Rakuten.com, but nothing came up!
Last edited by Brendan; Nov 23, 20 at 10:23 pm
