Quick Points: Get 10% back in Uber Cash on reserved airport rides
Back in May, Uber unveiled several new travel-focused initiatives. One of these initiatives was the ability to get 10% Uber Cash back when you reserve a ride to or from the airport using Uber Travel.
However, reserving an airport ride through Uber Travel is different from using the Uber Reserve feature. And you'll need to set up Uber Travel within the main Uber app before you can reserve an airport ride.
So, here's what you need to know to get 10% back in Uber Cash on reserved rides to or from select airports through Uber Travel.
Eligible cities
According to the Uber help page, Uber Travel is currently available in the following cities:
- Charleston, South Carolina.
- Charlotte.
- Denver.
- Fort Myers-Naples, Florida.
- Miami.
- Nashville.
- New York City.
- Philadelphia.
- Phoenix.
- Toronto.
- Washington, D.C.
So, at least for now, you'll only be able to use Uber Travel and get 10% back in Uber Cash on reserved rides to and from airports in these cities.
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What is Uber Travel?
Uber Travel shows information about your upcoming travel bookings, including flights, hotels and other reservations, in the Uber app once you opt in.
Your travel information is gathered through a third-party partnership with AwardWallet. AwardWallet finds emails in your inbox from travel providers, such as airlines and hotels, and collects information from these emails so that Uber Travel can show all of your bookings in one place.
You'll need to open the Uber app and tap the Travel icon to use Uber Travel. If you don't see the Travel icon, you can tap More and then you may see the Travel icon. However, some Uber app users may not see the Travel icon. In particular, neither my husband nor I could access Uber Travel on our Android devices.
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If you can use Uber Travel on your device, you can sign in to your Google account and connect your Gmail account with your Uber account. Doing so will give AwardWallet and Uber Travel access to your emails, although Uber claims it will only have access to travel-related emails.
This might sound concerning. But AwardWallet determines which emails to scrape based on whether the email's header matches what is used by its supported hotel, flight and other travel-related programs. So, it will only look at (and pass on to Uber) travel-related confirmation emails from supported travel suppliers.
Once you've connected your Gmail account to your Uber account, you should see the itineraries of your future trips when you tap the Travel icon. Within these itineraries, you can reserve rides to or from the airport and get 10% of the cost back in Uber Cash.
Here's a look at how Uber Travel works, including the enrollment process:
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Bottom line
With the extra incentive of 10% back in Uber Cash when reserving airport rides through Uber Travel, I'll certainly try out Uber Travel once I see the Travel tile in my Uber app. I'm willing to give up some of my travel data to Uber Travel and AwardWallet in exchange for the convenience and discounts Uber Travel should provide.
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| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app