Delta to link loyalty program to Uber, ending partnership with Lyft

Delta Air Lines will link its lucrative SkyMiles loyalty program to Uber this spring, the businesses announced Tuesday, because the airline ends its eight-year partnership with smaller ride-hailing rival Lyft.

Once customer accounts are linked, Delta SkyMiles members can earn one mile per dollar spent on UberX airport rides, two miles for each dollar spent on “premium rides” comparable to Uber Comfort and Uber Black, and three miles per dollar on Uber Reserve trips, Uber said Tuesday. For Uber Eats food-delivery service, members will earn one mile for each dollar on orders over $40 from restaurants and grocery stores.

“With a record variety of travelers taking to the skies, we’re focused on helping to make your airport travel journey as efficient, inexpensive, and effortless as possible,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a news release.

Delta and other airlines have expanded their partnerships for earning and using frequent flyer miles, a part of loyalty programs which have generated billions of dollars for carriers. Other Delta partners include Starbucks, Hertz and Ticketmaster.

Customers who’ve linked their Lyft accounts to Delta can earn miles through April 7, a Delta spokesperson said.

“Customers with linked accounts will receive direct communication from Delta and Lyft in the approaching days in regards to the transition,” the spokesperson said. “We’re appreciative of the partnership we have had with Lyft benefiting loyal customers who’ve collectively earned billions of miles.”

“Years ago we teamed up with our first airline to unlock more ways to uplevel and innovate around travel experiences, thereby turning those customers into Lyft loyalists,” Lyft said in an announcement. “We’re continuing to expand our horizons by joining forces with major brands who share our customer obsession, like Alaska Airlines, Chase, DoorDash, Mastercard, Hilton, Disney, and Bilt.”

Delta didn’t comment on why it’s switching ride-hailing partners, though Delta’s bank card partner American Express offers some cardholders credits to make use of with Uber for rides and food delivery.

Delta, which reports quarterly earnings on Friday, estimated at an investor day in November that it might receive about $7 billion in 2024 from the AmEx partnership, and it set a long-term goal of $10 billion a 12 months.

Lyft had 24.4 million lively riders as of the tip of the third quarter, and customers booked greater than 216 million rides on the platform within the three months ended Sept. 30, a record and up 16% from a 12 months earlier.

Uber, meanwhile, had 161 million monthly lively users on each its ride-hailing and food delivery platforms at the tip of September, and its customers posted greater than 2.8 billion rides, which incorporates delivery, freight, ride-shares and personal rides, within the third quarter, up 17% from the year-earlier period.

Uber last 12 months rolled out a shuttle service to Latest York’s LaGuardia Airport from Manhattan.

Delta and Uber announced the brand new partnership on the CES tech show in Las Vegas, where Delta also said it might launch a man-made intelligence-powered “assistant” in its app and make upgrades to its in-flight entertainment systems.