Key Takeaways
- Uber Pro is a rewards program for drivers to earn more through points and activities.
- The program offers various benefits, including cash rewards, savings on gas, and tuition coverage.
- Drivers earn points for trips, especially during peak hours, to qualify for different Uber Pro tiers.
- Maintaining a high Uber star rating and low cancellation rate is crucial for achieving higher Uber Pro status.
Uber’s New Rewards Program: Uber Pro
Uber Pro is a rewards program designed to help drivers earn more on trips by completing a series of actions or activities.
In addition to the regular fare, the program allows drivers to earn points that accumulate over time, building up their eligibility for certain rewards depending on their Uber Pro status.
Of course, it guarantees that more drivers spend more time on the road, which is good for Uber, but in return, you get nice rewards to compensate you for your time spent.
What to Expect from the Uber Pro Program
Uber appreciates the hard work of its drivers and rewards them with the Uber Pro program.
This program, which is a reinvention of the former rewards program, is based on the feedback of real drivers and tailored to their needs.
With it, you’re offered user-focused perks, including savings on gas, attractive incentives, enhanced features, and more. Here’s a list:
- Cashback on gas and car maintenance
- Attractive cash rewards
- Free drinks and snacks
- Priority support
- Cashback on online purchases paid with the Uber Pro Mastercard
- 100% tuition coverage for drivers who achieve a high status in the program
Pro Tip: Make sure to also check out the new Uber Eats Pro rewards program for food delivery drivers.
Exclusive Uber Pro Rewards You Should Know About
Uber has partnered with top companies like Costco, Shell, Exxon Mobil Corporation, CarAdvise, and Evolve Bank, among others, to bring you the best rewards. This is what incentivizes drivers to strive to reach a higher status in the program.
Let’s see some of the offers available on the blue, gold, platinum, and diamond Uber Pro tiers.
Blue Status
This tier is accessible to all drivers on the Uber platform without any requirements. So, if you start driving today, you’re eligible to get:
- 4%–6% cashback on gas and EV charging (if you have an Uber Pro card)
- $0.05 off every gallon of gas with Upside
- $0.05 cashback on every gallon of gas purchases at Shell Fuel, BP, and Amoco
- $1,000 when you go electric with TrueCar
- Discounts on health insurance via Stride
- Discount purchases at Costco
Gold Status
The gold status is a step above the blue tier; you’ll have to rack up a certain number of points to reach it. Here’s what you gain:
- 7% cashback on gas and 6% on EV charging via the Uber Pro card
- $0.05 Mastercard easy savings per gallon of gas at Shell Fuel and select stations
- Savings on car maintenance at CarAdvise
- Free roadside assistance with Urgently
- Up to 45% off Discounts on fast charging with EVGo
- $1,000 when you go electric with TrueCar
- Priority support
- 100% tuition coverage at Arizona State University online
Platinum Status
If you’re a driver with platinum status, you’re entitled to everything on blue and gold status, plus:
- A Costco Gold Star membership at no cost
- 8% cashback on gas and charging
- $0.06 off every gallon of gas with Upside
- 25% off TurboTax
- Extra destination feature
- Restore Uber Pro status
Diamond Status
The diamond tier is the highest Uber Pro tier; it unlocks the best perks. You get all the rewards on the other tiers, as well as:
- Uber Pro’s one-time diamond cash reward
- 10% cashback on gas and 12% cashback on EV charging
- Faster pickups at airports
- Premium support when you contact Uber reps
Visit the Uber Rewards page or your Uber Pro dashboard on the Driver app for a full list of rewards available to you depending on your ranking.
How Uber Pro Works
It’s a simple 3-step process, although some terms and conditions apply. Here are the basics of how Uber Pro rewards work:
Step 1: Sign Up to Drive & Earn Points
Once you’re signed up to drive for Uber, you start on the blue tier. For every trip you make, you earn one point.
If it’s during peak hours, you can earn up to three points. Each point you earn takes you closer to the next tier.
The more you drive, the more points you accumulate. You earn points during fixed 3-month periods: November–January, February–April, May–July, and August–October.
Step 2: Offer Excellent Service to Riders
Based on the list of criteria and requirements stipulated in your Driver app, you’ll find what you need to do to earn points as you give rides.
Uber calculates your status based on the points you’ve earned during the previous cycle.
If you qualify, you’ll move up the tier and start enjoying the perks of your new status at the beginning of the next cycle.
Step 3: Climb the “Status” Ladder
The number of points you have determines your status on the Uber Pro program, and the higher your status, the more perks you’re eligible for.
For instance, if you earn 800 points between February and April, you may be eligible to move up to the tier that falls within that point range by May or July.
As previously mentioned, aside from the blue tier, there are also the gold, platinum, and diamond tiers.
How Uber Star Rating Is Calculated
Your Uber star rating is an essential part of what moves you further up the Uber Pro ladder. You need to maintain a 4.85-star rating during your 3-month cycle and a cancellation rate of less than 3%.
Your overall rating is an average of every rating drivers provide across your past 500 trips. It’ll not include ratings of 4 stars or below that resulted from factors that you couldn’t control during the trip.
What to Know About the Uber Pro Card
The Uber Pro card is a Mastercard debit card. With it, you can save on Instant Pay fees and get cashback on gas and auto parts.
You just need an active card and a Driver account to enjoy these rewards.
Some details to note about using the Uber Pro card for cashback rewards:
- Every month, you have a cashback earnings limit of $100 on the card when buying gas at select stations. The only exception is on the Mastercard Easy Savings feature; it applies to all other gas purchases made on the card
- Similarly, there’s a cashback earning limit of $100 on purchases made at Advance Auto Parts with your Uber Pro card
- Cashback added to your card is usually instant, but may sometimes take up to seven days
For more details on the terms and usage conditions of the card’s banking services, click here.
Is Uber Pro Worth the Hype?
Uber Pro is a rewarding program for people who want to earn more from their trips; the rewards are worth the hype.
Another advantage is that Uber Pro’s enhanced features allow drivers to choose their area preferences and see the trip length before they accept the booking.
This helps them avoid canceling too many rides by picking those that suit them best.
Is The Higher Levels Actually Achievable?
With the points program, drivers can “unlock rewards like higher earnings and savings” to help them make more every day.
And to help lessen some of the stresses drivers are always under.
Let’s take a quick look at how many trips that translates into per day.
First, there are 12.85 weeks in 90 days.
So, let’s you say you take two days off each week and drive the other five.
That’s approximately 25 days off and 65 days on.
To reach Diamond status, you’ll need to earn 1,800 points in 65 days of driving.
1,800 points converts into 600 trips (if you work only during 3-point times) which comes to just over 9 trips per day. That’s totally doable!
Uber says this will work best with drivers who put in 30 hours a week.
On a busy day, you can usually do about two trips an hour so 9 trips would only take 4.5 hours.
And you can see that you could easily work longer and get in a lot more than 9 trips per day.
Here is a chart showing dedicated 3-point hour times:
As you can see, you will need to complete a lot of trips to take advantage of the higher reward tiers, but if you’re a full-time Uber driver, this is definitely worth it.
Our Take: Why Uber Pro is Necessary
Uber says their “mission is to ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.”
But this has not always meant igniting opportunities for drivers. They may move the world but it has always been at the driver’s expense.
But now Uber says they are continuing the commitment that began with 180 Days of Change with a new benefits package they call Uber Pro.
And at long last, it seems they have realized the need to reward the contributions of their most dedicated, hard-working and highly rated drivers.
When I started with Uber five years ago, the first year was pretty decent.
But after that, they began slashing rates and flooding the streets with more drivers than necessary.
I remember one particular day when I got really fed up and banged my hand on the dashboard exclaiming, “Why don’t they pay their best drivers a little more?”
What prompted my outburst was an email I received the day before congratulating me on being in the Top 1% of drivers in New York based on my passenger rating.
The next day, that nice recognition didn’t go far as I sat for a whole hour waiting for another trip.
Forget the email congratulations. We don’t need that. We need more money. We need more trips. That whole hour was wasted.
I made less than $0 because I was still driving around, consuming gas and incurring expenses, in a vain attempt to get another trip.
I just didn’t understand, if Uber really wants us to put our hearts into it and give them our best, why in the world aren’t they rewarding those who are doing an outstanding job?
No other company would treat their best workers that way.
Most companies are smart enough to know that in order to keep their best workers, they have to reward them.
But in those early days, Uber seemed completely oblivious.
Unlike Uber’s promotions of the past, that have impossible requirements for very little reward, this one actually has easy requirements with great rewards!
We say you should take advantage of it if you can.
The only thing we’d like to see are health insurance benefits.
How about offering health coverage to drivers who don’t have any need or desire to take advantage of the college degree program?
Hopefully, they’ll get to that on the next round.
Final Thoughts
Complete rides with confidence, knowing that several rewards await you. The Uber Pro rewards program is an easy way to increase your earnings as you climb up the status ladder.
All you need to do is maintain a good rating, deliver excellent service, complete trips, and meet Uber’s terms and conditions to qualify for maximum enjoyment.
