Earn Airline & Hotel Points With Uber and Lyft

Did you know Uber and Lyft both have airline and hotel partnerships? It’s true across both Canada and the U.S. (and a few other countries), and there are multiple airline or hotel partners to choose from. Earnings stack on top of Uber One cash back, too.

We’re looking at both Canada and the U.S. in this article, but note accounts are separate in each country. That is, a Canadian Uber account can only link to Canadian Uber partners and earns rewards accordingly even if you take a ride or order food in another country.. Along the same lines, you can use your Lyft account in other countries, but rewards eligibility is based on the country your account is registered in.

Also, in all cases, you’ll only earn rewards after your accounts are linked, and you can’t request miles retroactively. Where an app offers multiple loyalty partners, you can only earn with one at a time, but you can swap partners in the Rewards section of the Uber and Lyft apps. Finally, you earn points on the eligible fare only, excluding things like taxes, fees, tolls, and tips.

Canada

As most of the PMB audience is Canadian, let’s first take a look here. Honestly, it’s pretty simple, as there aren’t exactly a ton of options.

Uber partners with Aeroplan, while Lyft partners with Hilton Honors. There’s really no evaluation of “which is and isn’t worth it” because there’s only one partner rewards program to choose from.

Aeroplan + Uber

In any case, you should absolutely be linking your Aeroplan account with Uber, and you can do so in the Uber app. Full instructions on the Uber landing page.

Earn Aeroplan points with Uber

The earn rate is as follows for Uber rides:

• 3 points per $1 CAD spent on Premium Uber Reserve rides to and from the airport with Uber
• 2 points per $1 CAD spent on Reserve and Premium rides to and from the airport with Uber
• 1 point per $1 CAD spent on rides to and from the airport and all Premium rides with Uber

On Uber Eats, you’ll earn 1 point per $1 CAD spent on grocery and retail. You’ll retain the same earn rate for restaurant orders only with a $40 CAD order minimum (before promotions and discounts, excluding taxes, fees, and tips).

Additionally, you get a $20 Air Canada flight credit ($20 round-trip or $10 one-way) for every 10 Uber rides. You can also earn a 250 points per month “Uber Hat Trick” bonus by completing one Uber ride, one Uber Eats restaurant order, and one grocery or retail order in the same calendar month. All have to individually qualify as points-earning transactions.

If you’re new to Uber, you can earn 1,000 Aeroplan points after completing your first Uber ride (excluding UberX Share) in Canada. You are only eligible to earn Aeroplan points on rides taken in Canada, but rides in the U.S. will count towards the 10 Uber rides to earn a $20 flight credit.

What’s immediately noticeable is that Aeroplan really only rewards airport and Premium Uber rides. Them’s the rules, so you’ll have to call a Premium ride any time you want to earn Aeroplan points or SQC.

Aeroplan limits partner SQC earning to 25,000 SQC a year, but frankly, it’s very difficult to accrue a meaningful number of SQC with an accumulation rate of 1 SQC per 5 Aeroplan points earned with Uber.

Lyft + Hilton

It’s the same with Lyft: you can link rewards by tapping your profile icon in the Lyft app. You’ll earn 3 points per $1 USD spent on Lyft rides and 2 points per $1 USD on shared rides.

Lyft Hilton Honors

That’s really the extent of it: unlike Uber One, Lyft Pink is not offered in Canada. Don’t let that stop you from ordering a ride, though, because I’ve anecdotally found Lyft rides to be cheaper in the past couple of months as Lyft sends numerous targeted promos.

Compared to Uber, the big advantage is that you earn Hilton points on regular Lyft rides, not just airport or premium rides.

United States

Uber

In the U.S., Uber has two partnerships: Delta and Marriott. The following are earn rates with Delta:

• 3 miles per $1 USD on Uber Reserve
• 2 miles per $1 USD on Uber XL, Comfort, Black, and Black SUV
• 1 mile per $1 USD on UberX rides to and from airports
• 1 mile per $1 USD on Uber Eats orders (with a $40 USD minimum)

You’ll notice similarities with Canada, where you don’t earn Delta SkyMiles on regular UberX rides.

If you are not a Delta frequent flyer, the other option is Marriott Bonvoy with the following earn rates:

• 3 points per $1 USD on Uber Premium rides
• 2 points per $1 USD on UberX Reserve rides
• 2 points per $1 USD on Uber Eats orders delivered to Residence Inn, Townplace Suites, or Element properties
• 1 point per $1 USD on Uber Eats orders (with a $40 USD minimum)

As an added benefit, U.S. Uber users with an annual Uber One subscription receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status after linking their accounts. Not that Marriott Silver gets you very much, but worth being aware of.

Between Delta and Marriott, the obvious decision is to accumulate miles or points with whichever brand you’re loyal to. In neither case do you earn rewards for regular non-airport UberX rides.

Lyft

Here is where it gets really exciting because Lyft partnerships in the U.S. are way more rewarding than Uber’s, with a truly excellent list of rewards partners.

Lyft partners with United MileagePlus, Hilton Honors, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, and Bilt Rewards. Most importantly, you can earn miles and points on regular Lyft rides, even when you’re not going to the airport.

Of course, you can select one partner to earn with at a time, and I would personally choose Alaska Atmos Rewards or Bilt, given how difficult it is to earn rewards with them. Here are all the earn rates.

United MileagePlus

• 4 miles per $1 USD spent on scheduled airport rides
• 3 miles per $1 USD spent on Extra Comfort, Lyft Black, Black SUV, and non-scheduled airport rides
• 2 miles per $1 USD spent on Lyft business profile rides
• 1 mile per $1 USD spent on Standard, Priority Pickup, and XL rides

Hilton Honors

• 3 points per $1 USD spent on standard, luxury, and extra-seat rides
• 2 points per $1 USD spent on shared rides

Atmos Rewards

• 3 points per $1 USD spent on rides to/from the airport and on all Extra Comfort, Black, and Black SUV rides
• 2 points per $1 USD spent on Lyft Standard, Priority Pickup, and XL rides

Earn Atmos Rewards points on Lyft rides

Bilt Rewards

• 2 points per $1 USD spent on Lyft rides, excluding Wait & Save and Shared

Choose Bilt for maximum flexibility, as it’s the only transferable points program among the partnership options (including transfers to Alaska, with other highlights being Hyatt and Japan Mileage Bank), or choose Alaska if you primarily book elevated rides.

Stack Credit Card Earnings and Partner Rewards

The nice part here is you’ll be able to stack credit card earnings with partner rewards. It’s more lucrative with Lyft only because its partner rewards are better. Uber, basically, you’re only earning points on non-UberX and airport rides. Regular UberX rides to anywhere other than an airport won’t earn rewards.

You can earn up to 7X on Lyft in the U.S. by linking your Atmos Rewards or Bilt Rewards account to Lyft for 2X, then paying with an eligible Chase card earning 5X on Lyft. Technically it’s 8X if you link Hilton and use Chase, but 1 Hilton point is not worth anywhere near as much as 1 Atmos Rewards or Bilt point.

Uber One also offers its own cashback scheme, Uber One Rewards, which you can stack in addition. Lyft has Lyft Cash Rewards, but it doesn’t function the same; it’s just a way to buy additional Lyft credits by loading money onto your Lyft balance.

At the end of the day, I would just link whichever loyalty program you engage with most, as it’s unlikely you’ll earn a substantial number of miles from rideshare. Personally, I’d choose Atmos Rewards because I regularly redeem Atmos points and occasionally take Lyft to the airport, where the 3X rate beats Bilt’s flat 2X. I end up transferring much of my Bilt balance to Atmos anyway.

For most people, though, I’d recommend Bilt because they’ve got 19 airline partners and 7 hotel partners and being able to earn this kind of flexible rewards with Lyft rides is really awesome.

Takeaway

Rideshare partnerships are easy points, and there’s really no reason not to link your accounts. You’re already taking the ride, the rewards stack with your credit card earnings and other eligible Uber or Lyft rewards, and once your accounts are linked, there’s nothing else to think about.

In Canada, the choices are straightforward. Link Aeroplan to Uber and Hilton Honors to Lyft. Lyft is arguably the more rewarding setup for everyday rides since Hilton points accrue on regular trips, while Aeroplan largely restricts earnings to airport and premium Uber rides.

The U.S. is where things get much more interesting, particularly with Lyft. Between Atmos Rewards, Bilt, United, and Hilton, there are several good options, but I’d default to Bilt for most people because the points are transferable to such a wide range of airline and hotel programs.

Either way, don’t overthink this one. Pick the program you actually engage with, link it to your rideshare app, and collect some extra points on rides you were going to take anyway.

Featured Image Credit: Aeroplan