The Uber VIP ride is an exclusive part of Uber’s Amex Benefits program in partnership with American Express.
About Uber VIP Ride
The program was introduced in 2015 as an attempt to invite valued Uber customers and offer them upscaled services. However, in 2018, the company altered the program to make it exclusive for American Express credit cardholders.
Currently, if you are an Amex Consumer Platinum or Amex Centurion cardholder and have it added to your payment method on Uber, you are eligible for the Uber VIP ride.
What Are the Benefits of Uber VIP?
An Uber VIP ride offers a bunch of additional benefits to the rider at the same cost as that of a standard Uber trip.
- Joining the Uber VIP program implies that you receive advanced notifications for new promotional events, exclusive deals and discounts, and special giveaways.
- The driver behind the wheels of your VIP ride would always be someone with an average rating of 4.8 stars or above.
- You get to ride in higher-quality cars. Your ride vehicle will be in pristine condition and will offer a safer and more comfortable ride than a standard vehicle.
However, you must not confuse high-quality vehicles with luxury vehicles. You can request a luxury vehicle by selecting an Uber Black and not an UberX ride.
What is the ride fare difference between the Uber VIP ride and a standard Uber trip?
There is no difference in the cost of a regular Uber ride and an Uber VIP ride. You are charged the same rates as you’d pay for a non-VIP option of the same ride alternative. You gain access to highly rated drivers and premium vehicles with this offering for no extra charges.
However, as the number of VIP vehicles on the road is limited at any given time, the waiting times may be longer than usual.
How can I become a part of the Uber VIP rides program?
Uber’s VIP program is accessible exclusively for American Express Consumer Platinum and Centurion cardholders. If you are the holder of one such card, you can simply link your card to your Uber account and gain VIP access. Moreover, the company offers this service in cities across the U.S. alone.
Uber terminated this service variant for non-American Express cardholders in 2018. So, there is no way for users who do not have these cards to access this specific program.
How can I link my Amex Platinum card to my Uber account?
As an Amex cardholder, you have to add the card as a payment method on your Uber profile to access the Uber VIP ride.
- Open the Uber app
- Navigate to the “Payments” tab and select it
- On the page, you can view your pre-saved cards in your Uber profile
- Tap “Add payment method” and enter your American Express Platinum or Centurion card details
- After adding your Amex card to your account, you can naccess “Amex Benefits”
- The Amex Benefits program offers Uber VIP rides and provides $15 a month credits
So, upon adding your card to Uber, you automatically gain Uber VIP access within select cities in the U.S.
Is it possible to be part of both Uber VIP and Uber Rewards programs simultaneously?
Yes, you can use Uber VIP and Uber Rewards together. The VIP service is part of the Amex Benefit program and Uber’s Rewards program is completely separate from the same.
Uber Rewards has a tiered status system and once you reach its Diamond status level, you can match with top-rated Uber driver-partners every time. So, if you are part of Uber VIP as well, you can avail of high-quality trip services at all times.
