Uber launches rewards such as credits and improvements for runners 9 cities – TechCrunch



[ad_1]

Uber's new loyalty program makes you not to check Lyft or the local competitor. Riders earn points for all the money they spend on Uber and Uber Eats, which earns them 5 credits, a more enjoyable car upgrade, premium support and even flexible cancellations that eliminate fees if they reserve again within 15 minutes.

Uber Rewards will be launched today in nine cities and then in the coming months for the entire United States. Points for scooters and motorcycles will be available soon. And as a great way to get the program excited, it relies retroactively on your Uber activities for the last six months to give you benefits as soon as you register for free at Uber Rewards. You will see the new rewards bar on the home screen of your app today if you live in Miami, Denver, Tampa, New York, Washington, DC, Philadelphia. , in Atlanta, San Diego or elsewhere in New Jersey, as Uber wanted. test with a representative sample of the United States.

The loyalty program combines the company's various transportation and food delivery options, encouraging customers to use Uber for a range of solutions instead of considering it as interchangeable with alternatives. "While people are using Uber more and more everyday, we wanted to find a way to reward them for choosing Uber," says Uber's product manager for Nundu Janikaram runners. "International expansion is our priority," says Holly Ormseth, Uber Rewards Product Manager.

As for the drivers, "they absolutely receive the full fare," says Ormseth. "We understand that offering these benefits at a cost to Uber, but we view this as an investment," Janakiram says.

So how much does Ubering bring you? Describe it:

In Uber Rewards, you earn points by spending money to achieve different levels of benefits. Points are earned during 6-month periods, and if you reach a level, you get the benefits for the rest of that time plus the next period. You earn 1 point per dollar spent on UberPool, Express Pool and Uber Eats; 2 points UberX, Uber XL and Uber Select; and 3 points on Uber Black and Black SUV. The progress wheel of your Uber Rewards at the bottom of the home screen fills with time.

Blue: $ 5 in credits

The only Uber benefit that has not been reset at the end of a period is that you get $ 5 from Uber Cash for every 500 points earned, regardless of membership level. "Even as a semi-frequent Uber Rewards member, you'll get those instant benefits," says Janakiram. Blue allows you to treat Uber as a video game in which you try to accumulate points to earn an extra life. To earn 500 points, you would need about 48 UberPool trips, 6 Uber Xs and 6 Uber Eats orders.

Gold: Flexible cancellations

Once you have reached 500 points, you join Uber Gold and you get flexible cancellations that will refund your $ 5 cancellation fee if you book again within 15 minutes. Gold Priority Support is for users who occasionally take Uber but stick to their lower cost options. "The Gold level is where things do not go as planned," says Janakiram. To earn 500 points in six months, you need to take about 2 UberPools per week, one Uber X per month and one Uber Eats order per month.

Platinum: Price Protection

At 2500 points, you join Uber Platinum, which gives you the Gold benefits plus price protection on a trip between two of your favorite places, regardless of traffic or affluence. And Platinum members get priority support at airports. To earn 2,500 points, you must take UberX 4 times a week and order Uber Eats twice a month. It is designed for frequent users who might rely on Uber to get to work or play.

Diamond: Premium Support and Upgrades

At 7,500 points, you benefit from Gold and Platinum benefits, as well as premium support via a dedicated phone line and quick, 24/7 answers from leading customer service agents. You get free upgrades from UberX to Uber Black and other high end cars. You will be paired with Uber's top rated drivers. And you do not receive any shipping charges on three Uber Eats orders every six months. To reach 7,500 points, it would take UberX 8 times a week, Uber Eats once a week and Uber Black at the airport once a month. Diamond is generally intended for business travelers who spend their commute by car or those who have abandoned the possession of a car for carpooling.

Uber spent most of last year asking users, through surveys and focus groups, what they wanted in a loyalty program. She revealed that customers wanted to earn rewards and grow their dollars, but used the benefits whenever they wanted. The goal was to avoid situations where runners said, "Oh, I've been an Uber user for years. When something is wrong, I feel like I'm treated like everyone else. When runners think they are special, they stay.

Uber managed to beat Lyft at the loyalty game. Lyft has just announced that its rewards program will be rolled out in December, allowing you to benefit from discounts and upgrades.

One of the risks of the program is that Uber can give users at lower levels or even those who do not qualify for Gold, the feeling of being second-class citizens of the application. "One important thing is that we do not want to make the experience of people who are not in these poor levels significantly," Janakiram notes. "It's not as if 80% of people would suddenly have pickups at priority airports, but we want to monitor very closely to make sure we do not harm the service more broadly."

Overall, Uber has been able to choose benefits that seem useful without me wondering why these features are not standard for everyone. Even if it takes a short-term margin, if Uber can dissuade people from looking beyond its application, the lifetime value of its customers should easily offset setbacks.

[Disclosure: Uber’s Janakiram and I briefly lived in the same three-bedroom apartment five years ago, though I’d already agreed to write about the redesign when I found out he was involved.]

[ad_2]
Source link