Lyft Will Launch a New Loyalty Program Ahead of Sharing Rivals

On-demand transportation company Lyft is expanding its loyalty program to include all consumers.

The new Lyft Rewards program, announced Monday with few details, follows the launch of a similar service for business travelers it began offering in February. That program provided a $5 kickback for $10-plus rides taken on the service and billed to a business account — effectively netting a maximum 10 percent kickback.

Questions to Lyft’s communication team brought no further clarity on Monday morning. What the team could share, however, was that like the business rewards program, passengers would earn points for every dollar spent on the service and that the currency could be used for upgrades or savings on future rides. Reward tracking through Lyft’s app was also touted as a benefit.

Though details of Lyft’s rewards program remain sparse, the company does get credit for officially launching ahead of its peers in the sharing space. In the last two years, Uber and Lyft have experimented with limited rewards for passengers in select markets, but none of the programs have come close in scope to a general purpose rewards program like something employed by an airline or hotel. Even Airbnb, the darling of pre-IPO sharing companies, has struggled to get a loyalty program off the ground.

So far, Uber has launched the most successful loyalty partnership, one with Starwood Preferred Guest. That deal allowed for travelers to earn hotel points as a function of each shared car rental; late in 2017, however, it was officially wrapped up prior to Starwood’s merger with Marriott. In turn, Lyft launched a partnership with Delta Air Lines in May of 2017 that rewarded travelers with one mile per dollar spent on the car sharing service. That partnership is still ongoing.

According to a blog post from Lyft on Monday morning, Lyft Rewards should launch in select markets in December. As the program expands, further markets and customers should get access to the program.