Lyft Lets Passengers Pay for Rides With United Airlines Miles

The new collaboration marks the first time an airline and rideshare company have teamed to let passengers earn and redeem airline miles directly in a rideshare app, Lyft said in a Wednesday (April 29) news release.

“Every ride should move you forward — in more ways than one,” said Jordan Glassberg, vice president of partnerships and loyalty at Lyft. “Pay with miles means that the miles you’ve earned on your last rideshare can help get you to your next one.”

The program is available today for all members of United’s MileagePlus program who have linked their United and Lyft accounts. It works for all eligible Lyft ride types, such as everyday rides, airport trips and premium options.

“Many MileagePlus members have already linked their account with Lyft, showing strong demand for earning miles and more flexible ways to engage with the MileagePlus program,” added Jarad Fisher, president of the MileagePlus program.

According to the release, these users will find a new “pay with miles” option in the Lyft app when requesting a ride, viewing how many miles will be redeemed before confirming their trip.

United integrated Lyft into its loyalty program last year, letting riders who are also members of MileagePlus earn airline miles on every eligible ride. At the time, the companies said they planned to expand their partnership to let members redeem miles for Lyft rides.

The airline has said that it has been able to drive revenue by promoting loyalty rather than rewards within its loyalty program, and that it would allow cardholders to earn more miles on eligible flights than nonmembers.

As covered here in March, United is not alone in deriving more revenue from its loyalty program amid a changing approach to offering rewards. For example, American Airlines has stopped offering AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points on basic economy tickets, while Delta allows travelers to use spending on its co-branded American Express cards to earn elite status.

A report by Reuters on the issue cited an examination of filings by the airlines over the last four years that indicates why this trend is occurring. Banks shell out billions each year to the airlines for miles and other payments connected to loyalty programs. In some years, these payments rival the air carriers’ operating income.

This has left airlines reconfiguring their loyalty-program rules to focus on credit card spending, making rewards harder to earn on the lowest fares, the Reuters report said.