Two weeks ago, I wrote about Chase’s announcement that it would be increasing annual fee ($550, up from $450) and with that announcement, two new benefits were added to the card
With the additional $100 fee, cardholders can expect to get:
- Lyft Pink Status
- $120 in DoorDash credits
Well now it appears Chase is taking their Lyft partnership further by offering an additional 7x points on all Lyft transactions, through March of 2022. The announcement is as follows:
One thing to note is that you must enroll your card as your payment method in the app:
Ensure your Sapphire Reserve card is your default payment method. To qualify for Lyft Pink you need to enter your card directly into the app – if you use Apple Pay or PayPal, we will not be able to offer you the complimentary membership.“
This is a fantastic new benefit, with one caveat
On the whole, this is a great development for Sapphire Reserve cardholders, with one exception: cardholders that don’t have Lyft in their city. I haven’t found verifiable US statistics, but I do know from experience that there are numerous cities – particularly smaller markets – that only have Uber.
For those cardholders that do have Lyft, this increase represents a massive earning opportunity for Ultimate Rewards points (valued at over 2 cents each). For me personally, I take 6 rides to or from SFO every month, averaging $35 with tip, which adds up to $210. At 10x, that’s 2,100 Ultimate Rewards points just from the rides I’m already taking to/from the airport. That doesn’t even factor Leigh’s and my normal rideshare habits (another $100+/month). This is also great for cities like San Francisco that have Lyft bike share or car rental programs.
For car-less millennials such as Leigh and myself, this deal is close to being arbitrage (though legal of course 😉 ), especially when you factor in other earning opportunities, such as the ability to earn Hilton Honors points AND Delta SkyMiles with every Lyft ride. My take is that as long as prices and wait times are similar, I can’t see any reason to take Uber over Lyft with all of the earning opportunities.
Do you plan on taking advantage of all the Lyft earning opportunities?
