Uber vs. Lyft: The Great Debate

As ride sharing services have proliferated, the idea of getting a taxi seems so 20^th century. Cabs are still running, and owners often struggling, but we’re more likely to call an Uber or Lyft – a reference to the two most popular app-based ride share services. There are others that operate in limited markets – Via, for example – but Uber and Lyft are seemingly everywhere. But which is the better choice between the two?

To answer this question, we need to break it down into these component parts:

• Pricing
• Availability
• How Often You Ride
• Credit Card Partnerships
• Loyalty Programs
• Extras

Pricing

Both Uber and Lyft offer comparable pricing. Both services have the dreaded surge pricing, meaning you will pay a lot more when demand is at its peak. I’ve found surge pricing to be especially expensive late at night, after most public transportation has shut down for the evening.

If you are making a purely price-based decision between Uber and Lyft, you simply won’t find a big difference. Open both apps and book with the cheapest. My purely anecdotal personal experience gives a slight edge to Lyft, but they’re both about equal.

Advantage: None

Availability

Uber operates in more than 60 countries across the globe, and it operates in most U.S. cities. Lyft is a big player in the United States and has a footprint in Canada. But for now, that’s it. Even if you always use Lyft at home, you should probably keep an active Uber account if you travel internationally.

More important, availability addresses how quickly your ride arrives to pick you up. Uber was first on the scene and had a big advantage initially. Uber drivers still tend to arrive a bit more quickly, but the differences in arrival times are diminishing rapidly. Still, if you’re in a bigger hurry…

Advantage: Uber

How Often You Ride

To answer this question, you really need to decide what perks you value most from a ride sharing service. You can sign up for Lyft Pink and get 15% off your rides, plus a few other perks including priority airport pickups and waived lost and found fees. But at $19.99/month, Lyft Pink will only appeal to those who ride a lot. Occasional users would be wasting money. Lyft also offers opportunities to earn points in other loyalty programs, like Delta SkyMiles and Hilton Honors, which apply to all users who opt in.

Uber has a loyalty program called Uber Rewards. Like a traditional airline or hotel program, it has progressively higher status tiers that you can earn your way into. The more you ride, the higher your status and the better your perks. Uber Platinum members get limited “price protection” between their two favorite points – say, between home and work – but there are no other discounts.

If you are a frequent user, it makes sense to choose one or the other. But neither program is clearly superior to another. You will need more information, so keep reading. If you are an occasional user, there are few good reasons to be loyal to one or the other.

Advantage: None

Credit Card Partnerships

Lyft’s Chase Partnership

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card in my wallet, and for that reason, Lyft has become my first choice for ride sharing. Recently, Chase and Lyft announced a partnership that offers some incredible perks to cardholders of certain Chase products.

Chase Sapphire Reserve (and J.P. Morgan Reserve) cardholders:

• 10x Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar of Lyft spending through March 2022.
• Cardholder can activate a free Lyft Pink membership (normally priced at $19.99/month) and receive its benefits for a full year.

Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders:

• 5x Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar of Lyft spending through March 2022.

Chase Freedom cardholders:

• 5% cash back for every dollar of Lyft spending through March 2022

Chase Ink Business cardholders:

• 5% cash back or 5x Ultimate Rewards points, depending on which Ink card you have, through March 2022.

My Chase Sapphire Reserve card normally gives me 3x points on ride sharing, so this translates to an additional 7x points per dollar — more than triple the normal earnings rate. If you are a frequent Lyft user, those points can add up quickly.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with a hefty $550 annual fee, so even with its generous $300 travel credit, the card is not for everyone. A less expensive card, like the Chase Saphhire Preferred and its $95 annual fee, may be a better choice.

Lyft and World Elite Mastercard

If you don’t have an eligible Chase card, Lyft also has a cool partnership with Mastercard. If you hold any World Elite Mastercard, use that to pay for five Lyft rides during a month and receive a $10 account credit. This perk is automatic and one of many benefits of having a World Elite Mastercard.

Uber’s American Express Partnership

Uber has its own credit card partnership, and its own credit card. Like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Platinum Card from American Express has a $550 annual fee. But if you use all the credits it provides, you can find good value. One of those is a $200 annual Uber credit. Simply put, the card provides users with $200 in credit each year to spend on Uber. You can use the credit for rides, Uber Eats food delivery, or bike share.

There is just one significant catch. American Express offers this credit on a monthly basis, not an annual basis. Cardmembers get a $15 credit for each of the first 11 months of the year, plus a $35 credit to use in December. The monthly credit is, of course, designed to make you use Uber consistently throughout the year, and to use the Platinum Card from American Express as your main form of payment. But once you use up the credit, I recommend you use another form of payment – one that gives better rewards.

The Uber Credit Card

As its name makes clear, the Uber Credit Card is the company’s co-branded card from Barclays. With no annual fee, it may appeal to frequent and semi-regular Uber users. The Uber credit card offers a welcome bonus of $100 in Uber Cash after you spend $500 on the card within 90 days. It gives users 5% back in Uber Cash for using Uber services – Uber, Uber Eats, and JUMP – and 3% in Uber Cash back for purchases at restaurants and bars, as well as airfare and hotel stays. While other cards will often give better rewards and better flexibility (after all, Uber Cash can only be used with Uber), this card offers good returns for a no fee card.

If you have the Uber credit card or the Platinum Card from American Express, you may personally want to give the edge to Uber. But compared to the perks available on Lyft with Chase cards and World Elite Mastercard products, I have to give Lyft the clear win in this category. 

Advantage: Lyft

Loyalty Programs

Lyft Pink

Lyft has a paid program called Lyft Pink, and it gives some great perks that might be associated with a loyalty program. But at $19.99/month, Lyft Pink is a subscription – not a loyalty program. Still, it deserves a look in this context. This is what you get with Lyft Pink, straight from Lyft’s website:

• 15% off unlimited car rides. Save on every car ride you take — any time, anywhere. 
• Priority airport pickups. Get picked up faster at the airport when it’s busy.
• Relaxed cancellations. We’ll cover three cancel fees per month if you rebook within 15 minutes.
• Surprise offers. Get seasonal discounts and exclusive savings.
• Waived lost and found fees. We’ll take care of the return fee every time. 
• Bikes and scooters. Enjoy 3 free 30-min. bike or scooter rides per month (in select markets).

I am currently getting a free year of Lyft Pink via my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. While I enjoy the savings, I’ve yet to use any of its other perks. Nor have I seen a single “surprise offer” since starting the membership several months ago. If my current membership wasn’t already free, I don’t use Lyft nearly enough to justify its cost.

Uber Rewards

Uber Rewards is an actual loyalty program with three elite tiers of membership – Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. The most basic level is Blue, given to everyone who participates. Members earn points for every eligible dollar spent:

• 1x points for Uber Pool, Uber Express Pool, and Uber Eats
• 2x points for UberX, Uber XL, and Comfort
• 3x points for Uber Black and Black SUV

Additionally, Uber for Business users get bonus points when they use an activated American Express Corporate Card:

• 2x points on business rides
• 3x points on Uber Eats

Members receive $5 in Uber Cash for every 500 points earned. Those who earn 500 points within a six-month period, based on the day they signed up for the program, will earn Gold status for the remainder of the original six-month period and the following six-month period. Let’s say you join Uber Rewards on February 23^rd. Three months later, you’ve earned 500 points and achieved Gold status. You will then hold Gold until the original six months is up on August 23^rd, and you’ll get another six months of Gold status through February 23^rd of the following year. If you haven’t earned Gold status by August 23^rd, you start all over again. If you earn mid-tier Platinum and highest-tier Diamond status during that same six-month period, you’ll hold it until February 23^rd of the following year.

Here are the program tiers and additional benefits at each level:

• Blue – Entry Level Membership
• Gold – Earn 500 Level Points in Six Months
  • Flexible Cancellations – A limited number of cancellation fees will be refunded if you rebook within 15 minutes.
  • Priority Support – Your calls will be answered more quickly and by more experienced agents.
• Platinum – Earn 2500 Level Points in Six Months
  • Limited Price Protection on One Specific Route – You’ll be guaranteed to pay no more than the maximum price between two predetermined points, except during extremely busy times. In those cases, you’ll still save money but no more than 20% over the surge pricing in effect at that time.
  • Priority Pickups at Airports – Priority access to the closest drivers, where permitted
• Diamond – Earn 7500 Level Points in Six Months
  • Premium Support – The highest priority phone support, available 24/7
  • Highly Rated Drivers –You can request an UberX Diamond ride, which will match you with one of Uber’s “highly rated driver-partners.”
  • Three Free Deliveries – $0 Delivery Fee on up to three Uber Eats orders every six months
  • Complimentary Upgrades – Surprise upgrades to higher-end rides when you request UberX

If those benefits seem unimpressive, I am not going to argue. To earn Platinum status using the everyday UberX rides, you need to spend $1250 every six months. To earn Diamond status, you need to spend a whopping $3750. If you spend that kind of money on ride share, you should purchase Lyft Pink at $19.99/month and save yourself the stress of chasing status. With Lift Pink, you get many of the same perks: priority pick ups at airports and flexible cancellations. Lyft Pink also discounts every ride to the tune of fifteen percent, and the most frequent users will get enough cost savings to pay for the subscription. So despite Lyft offering a subscription in lieu of a loyalty program, the edge in this category still goes to Lyft.

Advantage: Lyft

Extras

Lyft Allows You to Double Dip with Delta and Hilton

Lyft allows its users to link their accounts to their Hilton Honors and Delta SkyMiles accounts. For every eligible dollar spent on Lyft, users can essentially double dip and earn point with both Hilton and Delta. That’s in addition to any rewards you may earn with your credit card. With Delta SkyMiles, users earn 1 point per eligible dollar spent on U.S. rides, and $2 per dollar spent on rides to the airport.

For Hilton Honors, users earn 3 points per $1 on most rides and 2 points per $1 on shared rides. I pay with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and get 10x Chase Ultimate Reward Points, plus the bonus points for Hilton Honors and Delta SkyMiles. For a $20 ride, that means I’ll earn 200 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, 60 Hilton Honors points, and 20 Delta SkyMiles points. Nice! Both require activation, and you should be able to do this on the app under the “Promos” tab.

Uber and Visa Local Offers

Uber has a partnership with Visa Local Offers, allowing users with a Visa card registered to their Uber account to earn Uber Cash. A typical offer might be 4% back in Uber Cash. These don’t require you to use Uber and can give you a little extra Uber Cash from everyday spending. To activate, you can check the “Wallet” tab in the Uber app and check out the payment offers.

There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of Visa Local Offers with Uber, but it won’t be much of a consideration in whether to grab a Lyft or an Uber. On the other hand, Lyft gives you bonus points with other loyalty programs, and those partnerships push me toward Lyft in most cases.

Advantage: Lyft

Final Thoughts

Uber is to Lyft as Chevron is to Shell. Chevron and Shell both sell gas, but do you really care which brand of gas you buy? The intangibles are what will make you choose one or another. At Shell, they offer Fuel Rewards and that prompts me to choose their gas more often.

In the ride sharing business, Lyft and Uber are essentially giving consumers the same service with many of the same drivers. How many times have you been picked up by an Uber, only to find both logos on the driver’s car? I mean, it’s a ride! But apart from Uber being a bit more ubiquitous, Lyft is the clear winner. Their Lyft Pink subscription is better than Uber Rewards, and they offer better partnerships and earning opportunities. I’ll continue to compare prices, but in most cases, I’ll still order a Lyft.