Uber launches a tiered rewards program in the US, just like Lyft

Uber has launched a rewards program for passengers just a few days after Lyft announced its own. Like Lyft's rewards system, Uber's will also give you access to discounts and more experienced drivers the more points you collect from every Uber and Uber Eats transaction. The program has four membership levels you can join for free, with Blue being the lowest. After your first 500 points, you'll advance to Gold membership, which gives you a way to cancel and rebook trips for free (if done within 15 minutes) and give you access to priority support.

You'll advance to Platinum level after 2,500 points, which gives you price protection even during rush hours and priority airport pick-ups. Finally, if you earn 7,500 points, you'll advance to Diamond level, giving you access to dedicated 24/7 phone support and the platform's most highly rated drivers, free upgrades and three free Uber Eats delivery every six months.

Unfortunately, you won't have access to those perks forever, and you only have six months to collect points towards a level. Each earnings period is six months long, and it's tied to the date you signed up to join the program. Your status will reset after every earnings period, but you will move up to the next level as soon as you rack up the required number of points. If you earn 7,500 points three months into one period, for instance, you'll have access to Diamond-level perks for the rest of that period and the next six months. So, that's nine months in all. But if you collect less than 500 points within those six months, you'll get kicked back down to Blue level for the next period.

So how can you earn points exactly? You'll get one for every dollar you spend on UberPool and Uber Eats, and two points for every dollar on UberX, UberXL, Select and WAV. Every dollar spent on Black and Black SUV will get you three points. If you never quite make it out of the Blue tier, though, you can still earn $5 in Uber cash for every 500 points, regardless of your level. Uber's rewards program will only be available to users in nine cities (Miami, New Jersey, Denver, Tampa, New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Diego) when it goes live sometime today. But the ride-hailing firm plans to roll it out to all passengers in the US in the coming months.