Uber Pro Rewards Is it Worth It For Uber Drivers?
Uber sent out an email last night to thousands of drivers about a new program at Uber. This new program will add incentives to Uber drivers who take more trips on Uber. Uber has been launching various incentives to better compensate drivers while reducing the level of surge pricing for passengers. Uber has unofficially been charging customers more through upfront pricing while paying drivers less based on the base rates. Uber tries to increase compensation to drivers through Quest Bonuses and consecutive trip bonuses. However, these programs have fallen short of what drivers are expecting from Uber.
What is Uber Pro Rewards?
Uber Pro Rewards is a loyalty program for Uber Drivers in the United States. Only Uber drivers with a rating of 4.85 and above with a cancellation rate below 4% will qualify for a membership tier. Uber drivers earn points on every trip towards various membership levels of the Uber Pro program. Uber drivers will be able to see how many points they earn with each trip.
It is unclear how many points are needed for each level, but an example seen in the below screenshot is 1500 points for Uber Pro Diamond. Uber notes in their email that the number of points required for each level will differ depending on the city. I believe that the qualification level points will be highest in cities like San Francisco and New York and lowest in small markets.
Uber Pro will be counting points over a fixed 3-month period as seen below:
- November 1 to January 31
- February 1 to April 30
- May 1 to July 31
- August 1 to October 31
It is unclear why they choose these specific 3 month periods. It could be that they announced the program yesterday so they wanted the first 3 month period to start on November 1st. It also avoids some of the holiday periods and gives some drivers a better chance to get the necessary points to qualify for the different membership tiers.
Which Cities will Get Uber Pro First?
It will launch in 8 select Uber markets. Below are the markets that it will debut in:
- All drivers in Chicago, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Seattle
- Randomly selcted drivers in Denver, New Jersey, Orlando, and Tampa Bay
How Do You Earn Uber Pro Points?
Here are the details about how to earn Uber Pro Points:
- Get one point for every trip and 3 points during 3-point hours (peak hours)
Below is the full schedule of 3-point hours (subject to change):
These 3-point hours are peak hours on Uber. It is very similar to the peak hours for Lyft’s bonuses.
If Uber Pro Diamond is 1500 points, then you will need 500 peak trips over a 3 month period, 130 peak trips per month or about 35 peak trips a week. This is not a very hard target to hit, which is good.
Can You Earn Points with Uber Eats Deliveries?
Drivers who also deliver with Uber Eats will earn points for delivery trips. Each delivery completed during 3-point hours will earn 3 points. Delivery partners who only deliver with Uber Eats are not eligible for Uber Pro. Increased time and distance earnings and trip duration viewing rewards are not available on Uber Eats deliveries.
How Many Levels are in Uber Pro Rewards?
There will be four tiers as part of Uber Pro:
- Partner – base level
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond – highest level
The benefits of Uber Pro will vary based on the level you are in.
What are the Uber Pro Benefits?
As part of the email last night, they also sent out a list of benefits for each level of Uber Pro. The list of benefits and rewards is in the below chart:
This system will add benefits for certain drivers and remove features from other drivers.
What Will Uber Drivers Lose with Uber Pro?
After reviewing the above table, some Uber drivers will lose Quest bonuses unless they are Uber Pro Gold. Hopefully, this means that Quest bonuses will get better. Uber Partners (base level) will still have access to consecutive trip bonuses. Uber Partners will also lose the ability to see Long Trip durations. Only Uber Pro Gold and above will see Long Trip duration.
What Will Uber Drivers Gain with Uber Pro?
Uber drivers will gain a few very useful perks for being Uber Pro Platinum and Uber Diamond. Drivers who are Uber Pro Platinum will get to see trip duration and direction for any trip. Uber Pro Platinum will also get 100% tuition reimbursement. Top tier Uber Pro Diamond will have “faster pickup at airports” and dent repair. It is unclear how much faster Uber Pro Diamond will be able to pickup at the airport.
Uber Pro Platinum will also earn 3% more per trip based on distance and time. Uber Pro Diamond will earn 6% more per trip based on distance and time.
What Happens If Your Ratings Go Down?
If you are a driver with Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status and your star rating falls between 4.75 and 4.84, you won’t be able to reach a higher status by earning more points. You will maintain your current status and have access to your current rewards.
If your rating falls below 4.75, you will lose access to your rewards immediately. To earn back your status and rewards, your rating must return to 4.85 or above. Because it is based on your last 500 trips, it may take a few weeks or a few hundred trips to increase your rating back to 4.85.
Is Cancellation Rate Important?
Yes, it is important! If you are a driver with Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status and your cancellation rate rises to between 4.01% and 8%, you won’t be able to reach a higher status by earning more points. You will maintain your current status and have access to your current rewards.
If your cancellation rate rises above 8%, you will lose access to your rewards immediately. To earn back your rewards, your cancellation rate must return to 4% or below.
Is This Similar to Lyft Accelerate Rewards?
There are some similarities to Lyft’s Accelerate Rewards program. Lyft Accelerate programs have discounts on various services, which wasn’t very enticing to me. Below are the various tiers for Lyft’s Accelerate Rewards:
| Silver | Gold | Platinum | |
| Trips | 10 | 175 | 400 |
I believe that Uber’s tiers will be similar, with Diamond being at around 500 peak trips for a three month period.
What Do I Think About Uber Pro?
I believe that Uber is adding more features and perks to appease a growing number of unsatisfied drivers. These perks are essentially putting lipstick on a pig. Some of the listed perks for Uber Pro are very good but I question where the money for these perks come from. I suspect that Uber has a growing surplus from Upfront pricing and they are using these profits to help keep drivers on their platform. There is no question that Uber driver turnover is higher today than it was last year. Driver earnings seems to remain steady. However, drivers are aware that passengers are paying more for their rides while driver income stays the same. There is growing anger towards Uber for keeping excess ride payments through upfront pricing. Uber is also keeping excess ride payments from surge pricing. Uber has gone to a flat rate surge pricing and drivers believe that Uber is making additional profits through the price differential between riders and drivers.
Overall, I believe that there should be fewer promotions and perks and higher base rates. Uber believes that they need to keep rates low to attract passengers and maintain growth. Uber and Lyft have dominant positions in the transportation industry and they can afford to increase prices. Uber’s plan to compete with Lyft isn’t going that well and unless Uber can stomach large losses for the next few years, they can’t lower prices enough to get rid of Lyft.
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