Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
Current Lyft bonuses for Chase cardholders
Don’t forget that multiple Chase cards still earn bonus rates when you use them to pay for Lyft rides. These bonuses have all been extended through March, 2025.
Chase cards that earn 5x on Lyft rides
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Chase Freedom Flex
- Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Ink Business Cash
- Ink Business Unlimited
- Ink Business Preferred
Chase cards that earn 10x on Lyft rides
Current Lyft bonuses for other rewards programs
It’s also worth remembering that Lyft has partnerships with Alaska Mileage Plan, Delta SkyMiles, and Hilton Honors. Members in these programs earn rewards when using Lyft, and these rewards stack on top of the Chase cardholder bonuses.
- Alaska Mileage Plan members earn 1x miles per dollar spent on Lyft rides in US and Canada, but through 12/31/22, the earning rate is 2x
- Hilton Honors Members earn 3x points per dollar spent on private rides and 2x Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on shared rides, in the US only (up to $10,000 max per year)
- Delta SkyMiles members earn 2x SkyMiles per dollar spent on airport rides and 1x on all other Lyft rides, in the US only
Quick Thoughts
Normally, I choose between Lyft and Uber simply by whichever is less expensive for the ride that I’m about to take. I’ll simply give Lyft a 10%ish buffer to account for the additional earnings vs Uber. I don’t know that having Lyft Pink will change my behavior much in that regard.
Is it better than nothing? Absolutely. But, I’d have a hard time figuring out why I’d spend $199 on it (or even $100 when the 50% discount kicks in).
To me, the main benefits are priority pickup, free cancellations and roadside assistance. I get roadside assistance through my insurance already, but if someone didn’t, I could see it being very valuable to have, possibly removing the need for an auto club membership like AAA. The priority pickups don’t ever seem to save a ton of time, 3-5 minutes the last few times that I’ve checked. But again, it’s a nice improvement to have. I’ve never used Lyft for ebikes, scooters, etc and don’t really know how easy it is in comparison to Lime, Bird, etc.
In the end, this isn’t earth-shattering for me, but it is another nice perk for the CSR and something that does differentiate it slightly more from the Sapphire Preferred. By adding all of these rewards partners, Lyft has definitely raised its profile in comparison to Uber and gives me a reason to choose it, even when it comes at a slight premium.
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What if you already have Lyft Pink from the CSR when it gave 1 year free (signed up in March ’22) Still qualify for this since it’s different?
Wondering how to unlock this as well since the current free subscription on regular Pink doesn’t offer a way to switch over. I guess it would be just cancel what you have now?
Also, you should consider that many peoples Lyft/Uber rides are expensed to their employers and a 10x bribe/kickback will incentivize a lot of people to use Lyft all the time, even (or especially) if it is more expensive.
This is a huge benefit for people who live in NYC. It’s essentially a free Citibike membership which costs $179 per year.
Similar benefit for Chicago with Divvy bikes membership!
I would use my insurance roadside assistance as a last resort – it will be considered a claim. I worked for the world’s largest auto insurer for reference. I know people who were warned of cancellation for using the service too much. FWIW
That’s good to know. Mine doesn’t work that way (roadside assistance doesn’t count as a claim), I didn’t realize that some insurance companies did. What a crappy way to “provide” roadside assistance.
I’ve wanted to use Lyft for 10x but over the last 6mo or so the prices compared to Uber are ridiculous. Last night was more than double in Savannah. I’ve seen a $10-15 spread with Lyft always more in metros with rides under $50. So it’s not just a couple more dollars
It seems to vary a lot by location. Last night in Charlotte, Lyft cost me $20 while Uber wanted $30