Uber has been pushing the Uber Pro rewards program on drivers for years. They frequently revamp the program to add new incentives—like cash bonuses or the ability to set an area preference.
But which Uber Pro benefits are actually worth it? Not only do you have to do lots of rides, but you also have to maintain high ratings.
Here’s a $600 bonus for reaching and maintaining Diamond level. Worth it, or not?
The problem: Maintaining a high acceptance rating and a low cancellation rating can mean taking unprofitable rides.
So which rewards are worth extra effort? Drivers are the most tempted by large cash bonuses for Platinum or Diamond Tier—a bonus that is sometimes as high as $700 or more.
We took a deep dive into Uber Pro to tell you how it works and which rewards are worth your time.
Summing it up: The best Uber Pro rewards
Costco Gold Star Membership (Platinum tier) — A ~$60 cash value is significantly higher than many other rewards.
Area preference (Platinum tier) — Close control of your pickup and drop-off zone is valuable
Diamond or Platinum cash bonus — A $200–$700 bonus that is worth reaching for if you already drive 200+ rides per month
100% tuition coverage at ASU — Only if you can maintain your Pro status. Great for a spouse or family member, so you have plenty of time to maintain your Pro status. It’s harder if it’s just for yourself.
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Article contents
- How the Uber Pro rewards program works
- How many points & rides do you need to reach each tier?
- The most valuable rewards
- How to get the Diamond cash bonus
- Blue tier rewards are mostly coupons and ads
- Why upfront pricing is killing Uber Pro rewards
- Gamification works! Try not to get played
How the Uber Pro rewards program works
Uber Pro is a rewards program for drivers that offers perks and incentives when you each new rewards tiers.
Give rides to earn points, then build up enough points to unlock Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers.
By default, one ride = one rewards point. But you can earn three points (or even five in some markets) by driving during ‘extra-point hours‘ usually during high-demand times.
Accumulate points during 3-month periods, then unlock benefits that last for the next three month period. For example, the points you earn during February–April will unlock a rewards tier that applies for all of May–July.
Another perk is that you can access the rewards of a new tier as soon as you earn enough points. So if you hit Platinum halfway through the February–April period, you’ll immediately get those rewards, and Platinum will last through May–July.
Other requirements: Driver rating, cancellation rate, and acceptance rate
In addition to earning points, you also must meet ratingd requirements to unlock a rewards tier.
The exact ratings requirements may vary depending on the area you’re in, but generally, you need to maintain a high driver rating, a low cancellation rate, and a high acceptance rate.
For example, in Los Angeles, you need to maintain a 4.85-star rating and a 4% or lower cancellation rate to keep your tier rewards.
Even if you earn enough points for the next rewards level, you won’t unlock it unless you also match the ratings requirements.
You also need to maintain those ratings to keep your current rewards level. Even if you unlock a new tier, you will be moved down to the Blue tier if you fail to maintain the minimum ratings requirements.
How many points & rides do you need for each tier?
Note: The exact number of points depends on the market you’re in. Below are the current point requirements for Los Angeles.
- Gold: 600 points
- Platinum: 1200 points
- Diamond: 1800 points
Check the Uber Pro section of the driver app to see the requirements for your area.
How many rides to reach each tier?
Generally speaking, it takes around 100 rides per month to reach Gold, 200 per month to reach Platinum, and 300 per month to reach Diamond.
By default, every completed ride adds one point to your Uber rewards. However, in some areas, you can get three (or even five) points per ride by driving during certain extra-point hours.
For example, below are the extra point hours for Los Angeles.
You can score 3 points per ride by driving during generally high-demand times, like the morning and evening rush hours.
If the extra point hours are generous enough, it’s safe to say that half of your rides can be for extra points, and half can be for one point.
Below is a calculation according to Los Angeles requirements. Your city may require more or fewer points for each tier, but the average monthly rides should be similar for most markets.
Gold status—600 points, around 100 rides per month
- 150 1-point rides = 150 points
- 150 3-point rides = 450 points
- 300 total rides in three months
- Average of 100 rides per month
Platinum tier—1200 points, around 200 rides per month
- 300 1-point rides = 300 points
- 300 3-point rides = 900
- 600 total rides in three months
- Average of 200 rides per month
Diamond tier—1800 points, around 300 rides per month
- 450 1-point rides = 450 points
- 450 3-point rides = 1350 points
- 900 total rides in three months
- Average of 300 rides per month
The most valuable Uber Pro rewards
Most Uber Pro rewards don’t offer major benefits that are worth chasing after, but there are a few that might be worth the extra effort.
Costco Gold Star Membership—Platinum Tier
Drivers who reach the Platinum tier can receive one free year of Costco Gold Star Membership, a $60 value.
This is one of the few rewards you can pin an exact dollar amount on. You’re saving at least $60, and you get access to all the other savings and benefits of a Costco membership.
If you’re the type of drive already doing around 200 rides per month, this reward is a great perk.
Area preference and extra destination—Platinum tier
With area preference, you will only get ride requests that start in and end in the areas you specify.
The only limitation is that it lasts only 2 hours each day, and it also prevents you from getting airport requests.
Area preference can be particularly valuable if you don’t want long rides, or if you know that you frequently get rides that take you too far out of your preferred zone.
You could use area preference to quickly knock out a Quest by targeting a small area that will give you short rides.
Getting an extra destination is another valuable perk if you drive enough to hit Platinum. When a long trip takes you out of the area, you have 15 minutes to set a destination that doesn’t count against your daily total.
But as with the rest of the benefits, you’ll have to weigh these benefits against acceptance and cancellation rate requirements.
The Diamond or Platinum cash bonus
In some areas, the cash bonus for hitting the Diamond or Platinum tier can be $350, $450, or even as high as $750.
How to get the cash bonus, rules from the Uber app: “To receive a cash reward, you must achieve or re-qualify for Diamond status in on Uber Pro program period and maintain such a status until the end of the program period. Reward will be given in the program period after Diamond status is achieved.”
Here’s what that means: Not only do you have to hit Diamond or Platinum, but you also have to maintain it until the end of the period.
That will mean closely monitoring your cancellation and acceptance ratings. That could mean having to take bad rides to get your acceptance rating up in time for
When is the Diamond bonus worth it? Generally speaking, the Diamond or Platinum tier bonus is only worth it if you don’t have to go far out of your way to get it.
If you already do 200–300 rides per month, it might not be much of a stretch to hit the bonus.
But the math might not add up if you have to do dozens or even hundreds of extra rides, especially if you have to do lots of rides AND keep your acceptance rating high.
You might make more than the bonus by keeping your AR low and sticking to higher standards.
Ask yourself: How many extra rides do you have to do? Are they profitable or unprofitable rides? Will you incur extra costs that cancel out the bonus?
Didn’t get your Diamond bonus? What to do.
If you satisfy the requirements to earn the Diamond bonus, Uber will pay you the bonus on the 1st day of the next rewards period.
Unlike other Uber Pro rewards, you don’t unlock the benefit as soon as you qualify.
If you hit and maintain Diamond during a rewards period and don’t get your bonus during the next period, contact Uber and ask for an explanation.
100% tuition coverage at ASU Online
Tuition coverage at ASU Online for you or a family member may be one of the most valuable Uber Pro perks, but it likely only applies to a very limited audience.
But for those who can claim the ASU tuition reward, the cash value is in the thousands, and the long-term value is incalculable if a degree puts you on a better career path.
How the ASU Online reward works: After you complete 3000 lifetime trips and reach the Golds reward level, you or a family member can apply for ASU online. Your first step is to apply for scholarships and grants. Uber then covers any remaining tuition.
You have to maintain your rewards level! One potential downside of the ASU Online tuition benefit is that you must maintain your Gold status throughout.
Doing rides and maintaining your ratings might be challenging if you’re a busy student. And surprise deactivations can happen to anyone.
The best way to take advantage of the ASU offer is to apply it to a family member. Because the benefit can be used for family, a driver can continue working to maintain Uber Pro status while their family member earns a degree.
Here’s the story of a driver who took full advantage of the ASU online tuition and ended up with a tuition-free degree.
Blue tier rewards: Not too valuable, mostly coupons and ads
As you might imagine, many of the rewards in the default Blue tier aren’t very valuable. Any active driver can access the Blue tier rewards, so don’t expect to get any benefits that carry a large cash value.
Most of the blue rewards are marketing joint ventures with other companies that serve more as an advertisement for the company than a valuable reward for drivers.
Uber is likely compensated for sending business to their partners. Or there is no compensation and both companies see it as a marketing win-win for both companies.
For example, the Uber partnership with Upside promises an extra 35 cents per gallon on your first two fill-ups. After that, you only get the standard discount available to any Upside user.
Let’s say you get 15 gallons on each of your first two fill-ups. That’s an additional savings of $10.50 that you wouldn’t have gotten without the Blue tier rewards. It’s not nothing, but it’s not a lot.
An other example is the offer for “Savings on health insurance” with Stride. If you click on the reward, you won’t find any special savings or features unique to the Uber partnership.
You can count it as a solid benefit if you find a plan through Stride, but otherwise, it’s more of an ad for Stride than a valuable benefit for drivers.
What about Diamond VIP support?
Drivers in the Diamond tier get access to “Diamond VIP Support,” which sounds like it could potentially be a big upgrade over the default Uber customer & driver support.
But most drivers don’t seem too impressed with VIP support. One driver on Reddit said that “The only real perk is you get connected to an agent faster.”
So it’s not necessarily better support, but it is faster.
Why upfront pricing is killing Uber Pro rewards for many drivers
With the upfront pricing update, Uber finally made it possible to see your passenger’s destination and an estimated ride payout before you ever accept a ride.
The consequence is that acceptance ratings are lower than ever. It’s easy to skip rides that don’t meet your criteria now that you have all of that information.
The issue is that Uber Pro has an acceptance rating requirement in most areas—anywhere from 60% to 85%.
It can feel impossible to hit an 85% acceptance rating when you have upfront pricing info because it means that you knowingly take rides that don’t pay enough, go too far, or go in the wrong direction.
So for many drivers, Uber Pro rewards are out of the question as long as there is a high acceptance rating requirement.
Even a big Diamond bonus of $500+ isn’t enough incentive because the belief is that it will cost you more than $500 to take all those low-paying, high-mileage rides.
What kind of rewards do drivers really want?
If drivers complain that most of the Uber Pro rewards aren’t worth it, what kind of rewards do they want? Here are a few common mentions.
Higher pay. Every driver wants higher pay. And many would much rather have higher pay than a bundle of rewards with questionable monetary value.
Lower service fee. Uber taking a smaller piece of the pie could be a big incentive for drivers. Some drivers might accept more rides and cancel less often if they could get a consistent 80/20 split with Uber.
More transparent pricing. Thanks to upfront pricing, ride prices are no longer calculated according to a rate card. Many drivers say they would accept more rides if the pricing system were more transparent and predictable.
Why take a long ride that pays 39 cents per mile when the rate card used to guarantee at least 65 cents a mile in most cities?
What drivers say about the Uber Pro rewards program
“FORGET all this nonsense and pay better!”
“Uber should have some real incentives for the Pro tiers. Mainly, the Uber service fee.”
“I went from Diamond to Blue because of upfront pricing”
“Being Platinum in NJ is still worth it because we don’t have upfront pricing”
“My bonus is $200. I can make more than that in one night being selective”
“They would have to literally offer me at least $300 per week for retaining Diamond status to compensate for the money I would lose from accepting all the bad rides”
Gamification works! Try not to get played
Try to be fully aware that Uber is using some of the strongest tactics in behavioral psychology to motivate you to do more rides—rides that won’t always be profitable for you
The Uber Pro rewards program is a perfect example of gamification—and it seems to work decently well as an incentive to drivers.
Gamification is “the application of elements of game playing to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.”
It’s hard to deny that scoring points and filling out colorful meters gives a type of rush that motivates many drivers.
Just search driver forums for the diamond or platinum cash reward, and you’ll find tons of drivers playing along with Uber’s game to earn a big cash bonus.
But the fun distractions of the game direct your attention away from a big fact: This program is intended to nudge drivers into accepting more rides and cancelling less often.
Before you chase an Uber Pro reward, ask yourself…
- Do you have to take unprofitable rides to earn the reward?
- Will you still hit your goals $/hour, $/mile, or $/day?
- How much extra wear and tear will you put on your car to reach the goal?
- Does the benefit of the reward outweigh the costs?
Jaime says
How’s it in Las Vegas for deliveryy
Lisa Obrien says
There isn’t any “reward” program that makes ANY sense & the fact that “they” UBER have a rating scale for drivers within the company is utterly ridiculous .
Furthermore..the insurance issue?!?!
Genius..uber is taking money FOR INSURANCE!!..THIRD PARTY ..FREE MONEY!!! THIRD PARTY ..DEDUCTIBLES???
It SHOULD be an option.
Is everyone clear about personal auto insurance when driving ( If I say for it will sound like we are employees)
Hehehehe
George says
Couple notes.
When I first got and used Upside I made sure to fill the tank both times. The third time getting gas I got only a few dollars.
I received the discount on my first large purchase but they used the third time which wasn’t worth much and explained the promotional discount applies to the first two purchases that they process, not necessarily the first two chronological purchases. I know, right.
I just achieved Diamond status a couple days ago and then the period ended. Using what you said I called Uber (Diamond) support and got right through. She explained the bonus will be paid by the 7th, not the first day of the new period, August 1st. So by next Monday I am supposed to get $475. Woohoo!
Doug H says
Well done! Thanks for the comment
JON says
DID YOU END UP GETTING THE PAYOUT BY THE 7TH? I AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR MY PAYOUT
Kris says
Prior to reaching Platinum I saw advertising about a $450 reward- now I don’t see anything. Can someone share what it was?
Doug H says
The bonus can vary based on the city you’re in, or from person to person. So it’s hard to say for sure what other people were offered.
George says
I thought it was 450 as well but Uber just told me it was 475 and should be paid by the 7th of August. Hope you get yours, I too an waiting. The next one is only 300.
Tangie says
Hi, I just wanted to ask what city are you in where Uber is giving 475.00 for reaching Diamond status?
Thanks
AJ says
Since May 2022 I have never received a cash bonus for hitting the Diamond or Platinum tiers. I haven’t seen any boosts or quests in over 10 months. The only thing that Platinum offers is the Costco membership. Mine just expired and hoping Costco will honor the free membership again. Gold tier you have priority support and Diamond just offers all the benefits of Platinum with no new reward. The map never shows busy areas and often the coffee cup isn’t available. I drive with other platforms and try to pause Uber so the miles don’t count against me. The last financial incentive I received from Uber was when they were paying the additional fuel. Costco membership is the one and ONLY financial payout available and hopefully I can get it again without paying for the Costco renewal. Even with Upside and the first 2 $0.35 off, Costco and points I get from one of my personal credit cards is far superior financially. To date I have never used my two $0.35 discounts. I drive full-time so my points always quickly progress. But I would love the opportunity to have quests and/or boosts. It would be a welcome and appreciated additional earning!
John says
Things are way different here in the Orlando area of Florida. You guys have much better hours for 3 point rides. Ours are: Mon-Thur 7-10 and then 3-7 Fri 7-10 and then 2-12am Sat and Sun 8-11 and then 2-12am
But we also have much lower points needed for the tiers. 250 for Gold, 500 for Platinum and 1,000 for Diamond. But our reward for hitting Diamond right now is only $250.
Also, we only make 56 cents per mile, and Uber takes 40-60% of our fares.