Why You Should Be Using Lyft over Uber

Okay, okay, who wants to use Lyft when Uber is more convenient. Uber allows split rides, and all of your friends have it. Uber has genericized; it has become synonymous with using your phone to "call" a car- at one point in your day, you're bound to hear "Call an Uber." I'm here to break up your routine and tell you how you are going to benefit tremendously.

Lyft, as the second tier rideshare service, has made leaps and bounds in the last year to attract customers and retain them. If you follow my advice, you'll be netting at least 15% of your spend back for every $. At this point, you're probably wondering why I illustrated this first post with four different company logos- here's why:

DELTA

The first of these three to partner with Lyft, Delta has promised its FlyDelta App to become your travel app hub. En route to completing their mission, Delta has partnered with Lyft to give you 1 Delta Skymiles for every $1 spent on Lyft rides. For airport rides, you'll earn 3 Delta Skymiles for every $1 spent on rides, to or from the airport. These rewards are in addition to what you usually receive from your credit card rewards program. These Delta Skymiles are worth a minimum of 1.2 cents per mile, netting you, the consumer, an additional 1.2% return on your rideshare rides. Make sure you are enrolled in Delta Skymiles loyalty program and link your accounts here deltalyft.com.

HILTON HONORS

Hilton, the second-largest U.S. based hotel chain, is another key partner for Lyft. When you do stay at a Hilton property, you probably would not even be aware it is a property in their collection, as they operate under 18 different brands. Their most prominent luxury brands are the Waldorf Astoria hotels and the Conrad brand of hotels. When you link your accounts using hiltonhonorslyft.com, you will earn 3 Hilton Honors points per every $1 spent on Lyft rides. The best part- these points are on top of your regular credit card rewards programs and the Delta Skymiles you earn. Standard room awards at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives are 95,000 points per night, while Waldorf Astoria Park City stays are 80,000 points per night. These points are worth approximately 0.7 cents each on average, equating to 2.1%.

CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE

Up until now, we've mentioned the additional miles and points you'll earn when you link your accounts. Now let's talk about the points you normally earn from your credit card. Chase has recently 'refreshed' their Sapphire Reserve card, a.k.a. raised the annual fee without a meaningful increase in benefits. However, the card is still a keeper, and the one benefit they did add is amazing if you are a rideshare user. Lyft rides now earn 10x Ultimate Rewards points when using the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and 5x Ultimate Rewards points when using the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. These Chase UR points are worth, at a minimum, 1.5 cents each

Bonus credit card earning rates for rideshare:

AMEX PLATINUM: None, standard 1x

AMEX GOLD: Bonus 3x

(NEW!) CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE: Bonus 10x LYFT ONLY

(NEW!) CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED: Bonus 5x LYFT ONLY

SUMMARY EARNINGS ON LYFT:

CHASE UR POINTS: 10 UR points/$

DELTA SKYMILES: 1 Skymiles/$

HILTON HONORS: 3 HHonors points/$

In all, using a Sapphire Reserve card and linking your Delta and Hilton accounts will net you a minimum return on your spend of 18.4%.

In addition, all Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers are automatically enrolled in Lyft Pink, a premium membership experience, so they say, that matches you with top-rated drivers. I don't value this benefit nearly as much as the rewards earned.

For comparison, $1,000 spent on Uber with a Chase Sapphire Reserve nets you 3,000 Ultimate Rewards points, while $1,000 spent on Lyft nets you 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points or 3.33 times the amount of points. While if you use a Platinum Card from American Express, you earn a measly 1,000 Membership Rewards points on either rideshare platform.

Amex and Uber's $15 credit a month for the Platinum card have nothing on the Chase and Lyft partnership.

(Advice is totally impartial, I earn no commission on this article.)