Uber Visa Card | Hacker News Reader

Uber Visa Card

uber.com

13 pointsjoeblau17 comments

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Uber Splurge Pricing!

There are times when so many people are using credit cards that there aren’t enough payment gateways available to process them all. Birthdays, Black Fridays and even Days of Thanks, for instance, may cause unusually large numbers of people to want to use their Uber Visa card all at the same time. But fear not, learn how splurge pricing quickly helps each person who really wants to spend their money, spend just a little more to complete their purchase. For retailers, splurge means higher earnings potential. When you're open, your store displays areas with high demand customers in shades of red. The deeper the shade of red, the lower that area's average customer patience.

Am i missing something because this actually looks like a really good cash back card.

Unlimited 4% back on dining and 3% on airfare and hotel are really good. 2% cash back on online purchases matches the best straight up cash back program i know (double cash which is 2% back on everything). The 1% matches most other programs for generic purchases.

I might actually get this as a second card (currently just have chase freedom).

All of that in combination with no foreign transaction fees, which makes this a really great travel card. I'll probably pick one up once it's available.

Is it cash back, or Uber credit back? I think its the latter, in which case the card is still a good deal assuming you value Uber credit.

From the FAQ: Points can be redeemed for Uber credits directly in the Uber app. Points can also be redeemed for cash back or gift cards. All redemptions are at a 1% value.

Not sure what "All redemptions are at a 1% value." means though.

> Not sure what "All redemptions are at a 1% value." means though.

1% back if you redeem for cash. 4/3/2/1% only if you redeem for Uber credits. The page feels misleading about that.

You sure about that as most other websites are touting it as cash back: https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/barclaycard-uber-visa/

Not positive, but I pointed out in the comments on TPG that I think they made a mistake in their headline.

The Uber card page doesn't state anywhere that the 4/3/2/1 reward percentages are cash back. In any case, it's something ambiguous for Uber to clarify. I'm hoping my assumption here is incorrect.

Edit: I dug into the terms on Barclaycard's site and you do get the same full percentages for cash back with the caveat that you can only redeem reward balances of $25+ for cash (vs $5+ for Uber credits). See the section "Cash Back Redemptions".

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/action/tncContent?prodid....

The thing you are missing is that it's not actually a cash back card.

Those percentages are only for Uber credit redemption. The fine print says it's a flat 1% for cash back redemption.

My interpretation here of the fine print was incorrect. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15567825.

But why?

My guess (and there's probably a whole lot more to the story)... Uber pays lower interchange fees and gets a cash commission up-front per registered cardmember.

I'm making the assumption that this gives Uber a large volume of data on your spending habits. Of particular interest are the cash back returns on areas where Uber has a particular interest.

"For purchases and balance transfers, the variable APR is 15.99%, 21.74% or 24.74% depending upon our review of your application and your credit history at account opening. The variable APR for cash advances is 25.99%."

That's why.

In addition to what others have added, the cash-back is only spendable through the Uber app.

"Points can be redeemed for Uber credits directly in the Uber app. Points can also be redeemed for cash back or gift cards. All redemptions are at a 1% value."

"Redemptions for Uber credits start at 500 points for $5 and all other redemptions start at 2,500 points for $25."

"Bank deposits will be transferred to your checking or savings account within three to four (3-4) business days and there is a $500 daily limit for cash back rewards deposited into U.S. checking or savings accounts. Statement credits will be posted to your account within one to two (1-2) business days."

Thanks, I failed at reading comprehension there. So it's not only spendable there, but it is a good incentive.

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