Have we moved into a new era of reward programs? Depending on your apps and digital services of choice, you may well have found that a substantial number of them keep track of your purchases and activity with the promise of redeeming points for, well, something in the future. The last few years have also seen changes to the ways a number of frequent flyer programs operate.
And then there are the companies that are flat-out upending their rewards programs. Among them is Uber, who appear to be phasing out Uber Rewards over the course of the coming months. A new article in The Verge has more details on the decision, as well as the news that existing Rewards members can still accumulate points through the end of August.
Uber provided more details on the Rewards shutdown on its own website, including the details that existing users will need to redeem their points by the end of October.
As The Verge notes, Uber Rewards seems to be shuttering so that the company can focus on its paid program, Uber One. Uber One offers similar ways to accumulate benefits, but has the advantage — for Uber, anyway — of being subscription-based.
Uber’s own update essentially confirms this. “Nothing is replacing Uber Rewards. However, we’ve built out a great membership program called Uber One,” reads a statement on Uber’s website.
Is it that surprising to see a free service wound down for the benefit of a paid alternative? Not really — but if you’re a dedicated Uber Rewards member who has held off on subscribing to Uber One, you’re going to have a decision to make in the coming weeks.
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