Disha Mitra
Uber is set to shut down its free rewards programme coming fall.
Source: Tech Crunch
Reports this week suggest how Uber Inc is set to close ‘Uber Rewards,’ its free loyalty programme. Turns out, this is as it aims to shift its focus on its membership based on subscription, ‘Uber One.’
The ride-hailing giant first introduced this rewards programme in the year 2018 as something similar to the ‘frequent flyer’ programme. Through this, users would be able get points as rewards for every dollar they would spend on cab rides or delivery through Uber Eats.
Subsequently, these reward points could be utilised to get hold of discounts for their later use. Towards the end of last year, the company initiated the introduction of Uber One, whose subscription cost was $9.99 a month, or an annual fee of $99.99. Mainly, this provided members the advantages of getting 5% discount on some rides or food deliveries. Along with it, delivery fees of $0 while ordering food or grocery of $15 and $30 respectively.
Uber reportedly broke the news of the suspension of its loyalty rewards programme to the riders in a mail sent this week. It said how they could still gather points by means of this programme till the closure of the current month, which would be redeemable till October 31st. As specified by an update that the ride hailing giant published, the rewards programme would fully close down on November 1 this tear.
What did the legacy programme offer?
This mainly enabled the users to get 1x reward for a dollar spent on Uber Pool, 2x for every dollar spent on UberX, along with 3x for spent for a dollar spent on Uber Premium. The amount of rewards collected would place these members into distinct classes of Blue, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The highest comes with advantages such as means to drivers with top ratings, deliveries without cost on three orders with Uber Eats, along with free upgrades and better customer services.
Reportedly, users on the Diamond tier would still have phone support for the programme. However, the only way to now gather added benefits with the company would be to seek a subscription. Moreover, members on the previous rewards plan would get a free of charge one month subscription to the membership plan, but would have to pay for added access.
Though the ways of saving cost through the subscription of Uber One may not be necessarily overt, it is recommended for users who use Uber Eats fairly frequently. Currently, it is unclear as to why the ride-hailing giant is closing its rewards programme for the membership plan, which could be them trying to seek better loyalty from riders.