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Uber is looking at new ways to make users more loyal with the launch of its newest venture, Uber One. And if you’re a frequent Uber user — whether for rides, Uber Eats orders, grocery deliveries or more — Uber’s offering some enticing perks to get you to become a member of this new program.
Uber One is a membership that’s separate from Uber’s free Uber Rewards loyalty program. It costs $99.99 per year or $9.99 per month, but for a limited time, you can get your first three months free. And with the right credit card, you could effectively even get a monthly membership for free.
But what does the new service offer, and is it worth it? Let’s take a look at the new Uber One benefits.
A 5% discount on all rides and orders
One of the biggest perks of an Uber One membership is the discount you’ll get on rides and in-app Uber Eats purchases for food, groceries, alcohol and more. The 5% discount applies to all standard Uber rides.
For food, grocery and alcohol delivery, the 5% savings is only available at merchants that have an Uber One icon in the app. It’s unclear exactly how many stores will participate in Uber One, but it will likely vary based on the market in which you’re based. Additionally, the 5% discount will only be applied on a minimum $15 purchase at most stores, and a minimum $30 purchase on grocery orders from Cornershop.
For both the ride and delivery service discounts, the savings will be deducted from Uber’s service fees.
A $5 credit each time your order is late
Each time your Uber Eats delivery arrives after the estimated drop-off time, you’ll get $5 back in Uber Cash. This could be an extremely valuable benefit of an Uber One membership.
An Uber spokesperson confirmed to CNN Underscored that there’s no cap to the number of times you can get $5 back after each late order. Additionally, there’s no minimum to how late your order must arrive.
That means if your order is delivered one minute after the latest estimated time, you’ll be eligible for $5 back. With enough late orders, your Uber One membership could pay for itself.
Unfortunately, however, this “Uber One Promise” applies only to deliveries and not traditional Uber rides. So if your Uber ride drop-off arrives later than the estimated time, you won’t be eligible for $5 back.
Additional perks and $0 in delivery fees
For food, grocery and alcohol orders via Uber, members won’t pay delivery fees so long as they meet a minimum purchase amount. For food, you must order at least $15 to trigger the $0 delivery fee, while for grocery orders, you must order at least $35.
As part of an Uber One membership, Uber also says that you’ll get access to premium support as well as “special offers and promotions” and “invite-only experiences.”
An Uber spokesperson told CNN Underscored that invitations will run on an ongoing basis for perks like cooking classes and concerts. Additionally, members will get pricing discounts from time to time.
Unfortunately, the special experiences seem relatively hard to quantify in value, given that we don’t know exactly what they’ll entail. However, if the promotions prove to offer good value, this could be a big perk.
How to get an Uber One membership for free
For a limited time, Uber is offering a three-month free trial for new members. However, once the regular price kicks in, Uber will charge $99.99 for an annual Uber One membership, or $9.99 in monthly installments.
To enroll in Uber One with a membership, you’ll find a sign-up option within both the standard Uber app as well as the Uber Eats app.
For regular Uber users — and ones who frequently use the service both for rides and food deliveries — Uber One could be a good option. Even better, you could lock in a membership for free using The Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Gold Card.
The Amex Platinum card comes with up to $200 in Uber Cash each year. This benefit is split into monthly portions across the entire year, meaning card members get $15 in Uber Cash at the beginning of each calendar month, and $35 for the month of December. (Enrollment is required before using this benefit.)
The Amex Gold card comes with up to $120 in Uber Cash each year, again split into monthly portions, meaning card members get $10 in Uber Cash at the beginning of each month. (Again, enrollment is required before using this benefit.)
While these monthly credits can be used for Uber rides in the US or deliveries via Uber Eats, Uber has confirmed to CNN Underscored that the credits can also be used toward an Uber One membership.
At $9.99 per month when billed in monthly installments, you can get an Uber One membership with discounted rides and orders as well as other perks for effectively zero cost using the monthly Uber Cash from an Amex Gold card, and you’d even have $5.01 remaining in Uber Cash each month with an Amex Platinum.
In order to use your Amex credits to cover the cost of your Uber One membership, the membership must be billed at the beginning of a calendar month before your Uber Cash credits have been used. If you use Uber’s services more than a couple of times per month and can get good use out of its perks, this could be a sound investment.
Unfortunately, if you want to take advantage of the three-month trial, you won’t be able to use your Amex Platinum or Amex Gold monthly credits to cover the full amount of the membership. However, the credits can be used after the trial period is over, bringing the total cost down significantly.
Ultimately, if you frequently ride with Uber or use it for delivery services, an Uber One membership could prove to be useful — if nothing else, because of the 5% discount, which could add up quickly in savings.
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