Best credit cards for Uber and Lyft

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As ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft boom in popularity as alternative ways to get around, those types of purchases have become a more common bonus category for both cash-back cards and travel credit cards.

As with any other kind of spending, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the right card to maximize the rewards you earn when you catch a ride.

We’ve put together a list of the best credit cards for Uber and Lyft purchases.

Best credit cards for Uber and Lyft

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points
• Uber Credit Card: Best for frequent Uber riders
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for earning Ultimate Rewards points without a big annual fee
• American Express® Green Card: Best for earning Amex Membership Rewards points
• Citi® Double Cash Card: Best for earning cash back
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best for Uber credits

The information for the Amex Green Card and the Citi Double Cash Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.          

Summary of the best cards for Uber and Lyft

Best cards for ride-hailing services

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Best for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points

When you sign up for Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.  

Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits include the ability to earn 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel (excluding the card’s $300 travel credit), 10x points on Lyft rides (through March 2022) and dining worldwide and one Chase point on all other purchases.

The best perk for this card is the annual $300 in travel credits, which are automatically earned whenever you make a qualifying purchase including airfare, hotels, rental cars and more. You also get an application-fee credit (worth up to $100) for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. The card also includes a Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you and up to two guests access to 1,200+ airport lounges.

You can also receive a complimentary year of a Lyft Pink membership when you activate the benefit by March 31, 2022. Lyft Pink, a membership that normally costs $19.99/month, comes with perks like:

• 15% off all rides
• Three free cancellations a month (if you rebook within 15 minutes)
• Three free bike/scooter rides per month
• Priority airport pickups
• Waived lost and found fees
• “Surprise offers” — including seasonal discounts and exclusive savings

To activate your membership, add your Sapphire Reserve card as a payment option in your Lyft app and you’ll be prompted to activate your Lyft Pink membership.

Here’s a full rundown of the perks of the Sapphire Reserve.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve annual fee is $550.

Be sure to run the numbers when deciding between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. For example, you’re effectively paying a $250 annual fee with the Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 annual fee – $300 travel credit). You’ll pay a $95 annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. So you’ll effectively pay $155 more each year ($250 – $95) for the Sapphire Reserve and get many more perks, like lounge access, more bonus points on travel and dining purchases, rental car discounts and much more.

Chase has these restrictions for their Sapphire-branded credit cards. You cannot have more than one Sapphire-branded credit card open at the same time.

Uber Credit Card

Best for frequent Uber riders

Cardholders receive $100 after spending $500 in the first 90 days.

Uber cardholders will earn:

• 5% back on Uber purchases, including Uber rides, Uber Eats and JUMP bike and scooter rentals
• 3% back on restaurants, bars, hotels and airfare
• 1% back on all other purchases

The card also comes with benefits like cellphone insurance and no foreign transaction fees.

$0

The rewards you earn with this card can only be used for Uber purchases, including Uber rides and Uber Eats, so this card is only good for those who use Uber on a frequent basis. Otherwise, choose another card from this list that’ll offer more flexible redemption options.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Best for earning Ultimate Rewards points without a big annual fee

When you sign up for Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits and perks including the ability to earn 5x total points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out, 3x points on select streaming services, 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), 2x points on all other travel, 1x point on all other purchases.

This card also comes with primary car rental insurance when you pay for the rental with your card. You’ll even get solid trip delay insurance for up to $500 back per ticket on incidentals like transportation, meals and lodging when your trip is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay. And if your baggage is delayed, you’ll be reimbursed up to $100 per day for up to five days for incidental expenses like toiletries and clothing if the delay is longer than six hours.

The card has a $95 annual fee.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the #1 card we recommend for beginners in the miles and points hobby. This card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which you can transfer to airline and hotel partners like Hyatt, Southwest and United Airlines. Or you can quickly redeem points to save on airfare, hotels or car rentals through the Chase travel portal. The sign-up bonus is worth $750 in travel when you book through the Chase portal.

American Express® Green Card

Best for earning Amex Membership Rewards points

You can earn 45,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $2,000 on purchases on your Amex Green card in your first six months of card membership.

Ongoing earnings

The Amex Green card earns 3x Membership Rewards points on travel, restaurant purchases worldwide and 1 point per dollar everywhere else.

With the Amex Green card you’ll earn 3x Membership Rewards points on transit, including ride-hailing services.

Along with the good earnings rate on travel purchases, you get perks like yearly statement credits of up to $100 when you use your Amex Green card to pay for a Clear membership. Plus, up to $100 in LoungeBuddy statement credits per year. For frequent travelers, benefits like these can make your flying experience better.

$150 (see rates & fees)

The Amex Green Card is worth it if you can use the card’s unique benefits to save time and money on your travels. The card does carry an annual fee of $150, but it’s not hard to come out ahead.

Citi® Double Cash Card

Best for cash back

The Citi Double Cash card does not have a welcome bonus offer.

Benefits and perks

The Citi Double cash card earns a straightforward up to 2% cash back (1% cash back when make a purchase and 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase). To earn the cash back you’ll need to pay at least the minimum amount due on time.

This card has no annual fee.

Anytime you can earn 2% cash back (1% when you buy, plus 1% when you pay) on a no-annual-fee card, it’s nearly impossible to go wrong. But you can also increase the value of those rewards by combining your Citi ThankYou points to take advantage of the Citi ThankYou transfer partners.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Best for Uber credits

With the Amex Platinum card you can earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

The Amex Platinum’s benefits include:

• Up to $200 in Uber Cash annually
• Up to $200 in annual airline-fee credits
• Up to $100 in credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee
• Airport lounge access
• Elite car rental status with Avis, Executive status with National Car Rental and Gold Plus Rewards with Hertz
• Automatic Hilton Honors and Marriott Gold elite status (free breakfast and upgrades when available)
  • Enrollment required for select benefits.

For information on lounges at your favorite airports, check out this post on how to find Amex Platinum airport lounges. This card also has new travel coverages, including trip delay insurance and trip cancellation/interruption coverage.

The card has a $695 annual fee, which is not waived (see rates & fees). If you use the perks and credits, you’ll easily come out ahead and find the Amex Platinum’s annual fee worth it.

The Amex Platinum is useful for anyone looking to earn a nice stash of Amex Membership Rewards points through travel spending, especially if you can make the most of the card’s perks. For anyone who uses Uber with any regularity the annual Uber credits of up to $200 are hard to beat.

How we select the best cards for Uber and Lyft

Credit card welcome bonuses are the fastest way to earn lots of rewards. But here’s the thing – you have to know the smart ways to use these bonuses. So, we examine the details of each card and figure out which will earn you the most rewards.

Bonus offers

Like any business, credit card companies create offers to entice customers. Some welcome bonuses are appealing; others are not. We’ve done the comparisons for you.

Minimum spending requirements

To earn the introductory bonus, you must spend a certain amount using your new card within a certain time frame. We like reasonable spending requirements that make it easy to get your bonus. We do list cards with bigger requirements – but only if the rewards you can earn are worth it.

Ongoing bonus opportunities

We prefer the cards that keep rewarding you even after you earn the initial welcome bonus. And in the case of finding the right card for your ride-hailing purchases, you’ll want one that offers ongoing earnings in that particular category. Again, we’ve sorted through the options for you.

For rates and fees of the Amex Green card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, please click here.