Amazon Flex drivers are always hungry for more offers. If you can get as many high-paying blocks as you want, Amazon Flex can be the best delivery app.
But things get tough when you don’t get any good reserved blocks or regular offers disappear before you can claim them.
That’s where preferred scheduling can help. Preferred scheduling is a perk that gives you more reserved offers and more time to accept them.
Get more reserved offers with Preferred Scheduling!
Preferred scheduling is unlocked when you reach rewards level 2. But is it actually worth using?
Flex drivers say that preferred scheduling can help you get more reserved blocks, but typically only at base rates.
Other drivers are more optimistic about the benefits and use the feature to claim offers long in advance instead of sitting around and swiping for new blocks the night before.
Read on to learn how preferred scheduling works and how to use it to your advantage.
What is preferred scheduling on Amazon Flex?
Preferred scheduling is a perk for level 2 Flex drivers that allows you to set 3 preferred days & times of the week, and a preferred pickup station.
After setting your preferences, Amazon will attempt to send you reserved offers that match your preferred times & location.
The blocks appear at the top of your offers page labeled “Rewards reserved offers.”
Like other reserved offers, these offers are exclusively offered to you, so you don’t have to worry about another Flex driver out swiping you as soon as you try to claim it.
Preferred scheduling also gives you more time to accept your reward offers. Level 2 gives you 15 minutes to accept, level 3 gives you 20 minutes, and level 4 gives you 30 minutes.
“Booked $948 last week [with preferred scheduling] – spongesauce90
How to unlock preferred scheduling
Preferred scheduling is unlocked when you reach Flex Rewards level 2. Level up your rewards by completing blocks and deliveries.
How your standing affects the rewards points system:
- Default: One point per delivery, 10 points per block
- Great standing: Two points per delivery, 20 per block
- Fantastic standing: Three points per delivery, 30 per block
For most Flex drivers, it takes approximately one month to reach level 2 if you do several blocks per week and maintain at least a Great standing.
Reach level 2 to get preferred scheduling. Level up to get more time to accept blocks
How to set your preferred days, times, and warehouse locations
After reaching rewards level 2, go to the Settings menu of the Flex driver app to find preferred scheduling. There are two tabs: Stations, & Days and Times.
You can enter up to 3 days and times. The times are listed in 4-hour blocks, IE Monday 7 am–11 am.
You can rank your preferred days and times to let Amazon know which is the most ideal for you. Click the up and down arrows next to each time to change the rank of each day/time.
Set your preferred days & times to potentially get more exclusive offers
Set your preferred station (warehouse) in the Stations tab. Some drivers say that the station setting is less reliable than the days & times setting, so don’t be surprised if your new rewards reserved blocks aren’t at your preferred station.
Does preferred scheduling work? What does it really do?
Preferred scheduling can potentially give you more offers without reducing other opportunities.
In other words, there’s no downside to using preferred scheduling. But some drivers have found that the benefits aren’t as strong as Amazon claims.
Drivers in extremely busy and competitive markets may not see any extra reserved offers at all, but most drivers will receive several new rewards reserved offers after setting up preferred scheduling.
The issue for many drivers is that preferred blocks typically only pay base rates.
Many Flex drivers try to target surge offers, so preferred scheduling isn’t likely to give you the highest-paying offers.
On the positive side, drivers like that preferred blocks appear at the top of the offers page.
That means less scrolling to find your offers, which is a welcome benefit for a gig that can require endless scrolling and swiping.
The extra time to accept offers is another benefit. Depending on your rewards tier, you get 15–30 minutes to accept preferred offers, which is a big increase over the standard 10 minutes you typically get to accept reserved offers.
Blocks from preferred scheduling are typically at base rates (no surge!)
“All the preferred offers I have received have been at base amount” — Flex driver on Reddit
One of the best ways to increase your earnings on Amazon Flex is to target surge offers, which pay significantly more than the standard base pay of $18–$25 per hour.
Amazon uses surge pay to motivate drivers to accept unclaimed offers. Typically, the Amazon algorithm adds surge pay close to the block start time.
Rewards reserved offers from your preferred schedule are offered several days in advance, typically at base rates. You aren’t likely to see surge pay on reserved offers that are still several days away.
But if you’re happy with base rates, preferred scheduling can be a great way to fill your week with guaranteed blocks. If you’re looking for surge pay, you may be better off waiting for non-reserved offers.
There are some exceptions, and sometimes reserved offers will come with increased pay. For example, the reserved offer below pays more than $28 per hour. That’s a lot higher than the typical based rate.
Some reserved offers have increased pay, but the vast majority are at base rates
Do you get more blocks by leveling up your rewards?
As you level up, Amazon says, “You are more likely to see a higher number of Rewards reserved offers that match one or more of your preferences.”
However, many Flex drivers say that higher rewards levels don’t seem to affect the number of rewards reserved offers that they receive.
Preferred scheduling strategies
You can use a few tricks to get the most out of preferred scheduling.
Even though most preferred blocks don’t receive surge pay, some drivers say that declining a preferred block may trigger surge pay.
If you don’t accept the offer at the base rate, Amazon may send it to you again at higher rates. One Flex driver said, “Rates go up when I wait. What started at $96 for 4hrs went to $115 within a couple of hours.”
Your experience may vary. Many say that preferred blocks rarely surge, so you’re unlikely to see the offer again at a higher rate when you decline a preferred block.
Another common complaint about preferred blocks is that they don’t often come from the preferred station.
Some Flex drivers say that setting a filter for your preferred station may help to trigger reserved blocks that actually come from your preferred station.
Flex driver reactions: Is preferred scheduling a good thing?
The consensus seems to be that preferred scheduling does result in more reserved offers, but the pay is usually at base rates, and the blocks may not be at your preferred time or from your preferred station.
On the positive side, some drivers are happy with the increase in reserved blocks and enjoy the ability to organize their week of blocks far in advance.
Negative reactions
“A bunch of base pays from the warehouse that I don’t want”
“It’s really nothing special if you’re wanting surges”
“Reserved bocks offered to me are always base pay, so I never take them anyways.”
“I’m level 3 and still never get any preferred routes sent to me”
Positive reactions
“Just got preferred scheduling and boy oh boy is life better! ”
“Booked $948 for the week with preferred scheduling”
So is preferred scheduling worth it? Setting your preferred schedule doesn’t affect other reserved offers and doesn’t reduce the number of other offers you see.
There’s no downside to setting up your preferred schedule. Even if you only use it to accept a few blocks every now and then, it’s worth it. And you don’t have to make any special effort to reach rewards level 2.
Just deliver as you always do, and if preferred blocks work for you—great! And if they don’t, no harm done.
More about Amazon Flex
Billy says
How can I disable referred scheduling I see people earning more without it
Doug H says
I don’t believe there is currently a way to disable it. Try emailing Flex support.