How often have you landed at an airport and checked fares to get to your destination on both Lyft and Uber? If you’re like me, you check both and order a car on whichever platform is cheaper. Although that system can work well, your potential rewards earnings on the two platforms are far from identical.
Frankly, the little you can earn on Uber is no match for the ability to triple stack on Lyft. You can earn bonus credit card points, airline miles or hotel points, and even cash back on your Lyft rides. You just need to know where to look.
What is this magical Lyft trifecta, and how do you start maximizing your Lyft rides? Let’s take a closer look.
Chase Ultimate Rewards and Lyft: Up to 20% value back
Chase extended its partnership with Lyft, so Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders will continue to enjoy 10 points per dollar on all Lyft rides through March 2025. TPG values each Chase Ultimate Rewards point at 2.05 cents, so at 10 points per dollar, you get around 20% back on your Lyft rides in Ultimate Rewards points by using the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Sapphire Reserve cardholders enjoy even more Lyft benefits with a complimentary Lyft Pink All Access membership for two years, worth up to $199 annually. This includes various benefits like discounted rides, free bike and scooter rentals, and priority pickup upgrades. Activate by Dec. 31, 2024.
If you don’t have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you can earn 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides (or a 10% return, based on TPG’s valuations) or 5% cash back using these cards:
Or you can earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides using the following cards:
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To earn these increased Chase award rates, simply add your Chase card to the “Payment” section of the Lyft app.
The information for the Chase Freedom Rise and the Chase Freedom Student cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value
Pay with Mastercard: Up to a $10 monthly credit
If you don’t have a Chase credit card, another option would be to pay with a World Mastercard, World Elite Mastercard or the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees).
If you take three eligible rides in the United States in a month and pay with one of these cards, you’ll automatically have the following credit applied after the third ride (terms apply):
- $5 credit when you pay with your World or World Elite Mastercard
- $10 credit when you pay with your Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
Related: Best credit cards for American Airlines flyers of February 2024
Earn airline miles or hotel points: Up to 10% value back
bilt
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Hilton Honors, Delta Air Lines SkyMiles and Bilt Rewards all partner with Lyft, giving you more ways to earn points and miles. Remember, you can only earn on the base fare of your Lyft ride. Unfortunately, you can only earn rewards with one of these partners at a time.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll earn from each rewards partner:
Bilt Rewards
- 2 Bilt Rewards points per dollar spent on rides when you link your Bilt account in the Lyft app (4.1% return)
- An additional 3 Bilt Rewards points per dollar when you pay with your Bilt Mastercard® (10.25% return; see rates and fees)
Hilton Honors (points are earned on up to $10,000 per year)
- 3 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on private Lyft rides in the U.S. (1.8% return)
- 2 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on shared Lyft rides in the U.S. (1.2% return)
Delta SkyMiles
- 2 Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on airport Lyft rides in the U.S. (2.4% return)
- 1 Delta SkyMile per dollar spent on non-airport Lyft rides in the U.S. (1.2% return)
Alaska Mileage Plan
- 1 Alaska Mileage Plan mile per dollar spent on all Lyft rides in the U.S. and Canada (1.4% return)
To add your Alaska Mileage Plan, Delta SkyMiles, Bilt Rewards or Hilton Honors membership number to Lyft and start earning points, go to the “Rewards” section of the Lyft app.
Related: Your complete guide to the Delta SkyMiles program
Bottom line
The ability to stack offers on Lyft means that you can save big on Lyft rides when you factor in the value of your earnings.
Much of this depends on the value of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Alaska Mileage Plan miles, Bilt Rewards points, Delta SkyMiles miles and Hilton Honors points. Make sure you set up and link your accounts correctly so you can earn multiple rewards on your next Lyft trip.
For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
