Earn More on Lyft Rides with Chase
With the recent updates announced to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. A lot of credit card enthusiasts have been talking about changes. One of which involves Chase teaming up with Lyft. In this article we will look at how you can earn more on Lyft Rides with Chase. Particularly 10X ultimate rewards points per dollar spent beginning January 12, 2020.
I just found out by doing some reading on lyft.com that this perk is currently slated to last until March of 2022. But I also read about some other exciting information that applies across multiple Chase credit cards.
Chase Credit Cards that earn more with Lyft
Chase Sapphire Reserve:
10x total points on Lyft Rides
1 year of complimentary Lyft Pink membership per account (business profile is not eligible)
Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus:
5x total points on Lyft Rides
Chase Freedom, Student, and Unlimited:
5% total cash back on Lyft rides
Chase Ink, Cash, Business, and Unlimited:
5% total cash back on Lyft rides
How to earn
Getting started is a breeze.
Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of the Lyft app downloaded.
Step 2: Set your eligible Chase card as your default payment method.
Step 3: Earn on rides through March 2022.
Please note starting on Jan 12, you’ll be able to activate the Lyft Pink membership. Set your Chase Sapphire Reserve card as the default payment method in the Lyft app (not available for business profiles) by March 2022 and in-app messaging will guide eligible cardmembers through the complimentary enrollment.
How each Chase card earns with lyft
Without taking into consideration other benefits and only looking at the lyft multiplier we will do the math and see where the breakeven point is.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you will earn 10X points which can be worth up to a 20% return. Since this benefit is only being added for Chase to up the annual fee by $100. We will use that amount as the breakeven point. You’d have to spend $500 on lyft each year to cover the cost of the $100 fee increase.
$500 X 20% = $100
- Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus cards all having a $95 annual fee and earning 5X points which can be worth up to a 10% return. You’d have to spend $950 on lyft each year to cover the cost of the $95 annual fee.
$950 x 10% = $95
- Chase Freedom, Student, and Unlimited and the Chase Ink, Cash, Business, and Unlimited
With the Chase Freedom, Student, and Unlimited cards and the Chase Ink, Cash, Business, and Unlimited cards you earn a flat 5% back. These cards have no annual fee. So there is no break even point here as you have no annual fee to cover.
What is the best Chase Credit Card to use for lyft?
If you already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and use Lyft on a regular basis you will probably benefit from keeping it to pay for your Lyft rides.
I think the sweet spot will be to use one of the credit cards with a $95 annual fee. The Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus as these cards had no increase of the annual fee as of the writing of this article.
If you have never used lyft before, you can get a free $5.00 credit by clicking here.
Overall Thoughts
Chase teaming up with Lyft makes sense as a way to add perks that the competitor has. American Express and Uber have teamed up a while back now. However for those with the Sapphire Preferred in their wallets, this change is pretty lackluster for most. For those with any of the other Chase credit cards mentioned, they will probably receive the most benefit since there is no extra charge attached.