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Delta Announces New Exclusive Partnership with Uber
Delta has revealed a new exclusive partnership with Uber, set to go into action this spring.
About the partnership:
During the airline’s big CES keynote event held at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Delta announced that it was entering into a new deal with rideshare and good delivery giant Uber. Under this partnership, Uber customers will be able to earn bonus SkyMiles when they link their accounts and complete certain activities. This ability is expected to launch this spring, although customers currently can join a “waitlist” ahead of that.
When this partnership launches, SkyMiles members will be able to earn bonuses of up to 3 SkyMiles per dollar spent on Uber rides and Uber Eats orders. Specifically, customers will earn 1x bonus SkyMiles on Uber Eats restaurant or grocery orders over $40, 1x miles on Uber X rides to or from airports, 2x miles on premium ride options (such as Uber Comfort or Uber Black), and 3x on Uber Reserve trips. Note that these earning rates exclude taxes, tips, and other fees.
Previously, Delta had a partnership with rival ridesharing service Lyft (which still seems to be active as of this writing but is confirmed to be ending). With that program, customers could earn 1 SkyMile per dollar spent on Lyft rides in the United States or 2x miles on U.S. airport rides. However, since Lyft holds partnerships with other brands, riders would need to select whether they’d like to earn bonus SkyMiles with Delta or opt into other offers from the likes of Hilton or Bilt.
What they’re saying:
Announcing the partnership, Delta CEO Ed Bastian stated, “Delta is thrilled to come together with Uber to create a connected travel experience from start to finish. This partnership creates more choice for customers to get to their destination in a way that works best for them.”
Meanwhile, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted on stage that 15% of all Uber rides begin or end at an airport, making this a natural partnership for the service. In a blog post attributed to Khosrowshahi, he also said, “We look forward to launching this partnership along with more exciting benefits in the spring. In the meantime, we encourage customers to sign up on the waitlist to be the first to hear when account linking is available.”
My thoughts:
As luck would have it, I was actually at the Delta keynote event where this was announced (I even scored myself a $20 Uber voucher as a result!). Knowing that Delta already partnered with Lyft, I was a bit taken aback by the announcement. That said, seeing as I use Uber more than Lyft — mostly thanks to the credits I get from my American Express Platinum card — this arrangement works out better for me personally. However, I do wonder if, like with Lyft, Uber will now force customers to choose between earning Marriott Bonvoy points or Delta SkyMiles overall. Either way, I’ll be interested to see is this partnership sticks around.
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