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There are many different ways to earn miles and points. We often talk about some of the more “obvious” ways to earn — like spending on credit cards, flying on a plane, or staying at a hotel. However, there are other ways to boost your earnings from everyday activities. Every little bit helps, and you'll want to make sure to take advantage of these opportunities if you want to truly maximize your points earnings.
When traveling using the ride-hailing service Lyft, you'll earn miles, points, or cash back depending on what credit card you use to pay for your ride. But, thanks to partnerships with several loyalty programs, you can also double-dip on Lyft rides. Just by linking your account, you'll earn miles or points on every ride.
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Earning Delta SkyMiles with Lyft
In 2017, Lyft started a partnership with Delta Air Lines, where you can earn Delta SkyMiles on every ride that you take with Lyft. To earn SkyMiles with your Lyft rides, you'll first need to link your Lyft and Delta accounts.
Once you link your accounts, you'll earn SkyMiles at the following rates:
- Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all rides. This is applicable on all Lyft rides, including Lyft Line, Plus, Premier, and Classic. However, it excludes spending on tips, tolls, and taxes.
- Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on all rides to airport locations. This is marketed as a “limited-time” offer but has been continually extended since it was first introduced back in 2018.
If you don't already have a Lyft account, you can sign up through Delta and receive a $20 Lyft credit, split into two individual $10 Lyft ride credits.
Earning Hilton Points with Lyft
Lyft and Hilton first introduced their partnership back in June of 2019, where you can additionally earn Hilton Honors points with every Lyft ride. To take advantage of this promotion, you must first link your Hilton and Lyft accounts.
You'll earn Hilton Honors points on Lyft rides in the U.S. and Canada at the following rates:
- 3x Hilton points for every $1 spent on economy, luxury, and extra-seat rides
- 2x Hilton points for every $1 spent on shared rides
You can earn Hilton Honors points on a maximum of $10,000 in Lyft rides per calendar year. If you're not already a Lyft member, signing up through Lyft will also give you $5 off each of your first three rides with Lyft (for a potential savings of $15).
You can also redeem Hilton Honors points for Lyft credits at the following rate:
- $10 Lyft credit = 4,500 Hilton Honors points
- $25 Lyft credit = 11,250 Hilton Honors points
- $50 Lyft credit = 22,500 Hilton Honors points
- $75 Lyft credit = 33,750 Hilton Honors points
- $100 Lyft credit = 45,000 Hilton Honors points
This values Hilton Honors at a rate of 0.22 cents per point. That's not a great redemption for your Hilton Honors points. In recent redemptions, AwardWallet users have averaged 0.58¢ cents per Hilton Honors point when redeeming Hilton points for hotel stays.
Related: 15 Best Hilton Points Redemptions for Luxury Stays
Earning Alaska Miles with Lyft
Alaska Airlines and Lyft also announced a partnership in November 2022, where Alaska Mileage Plan members could earn miles for riding with Lyft. To start, you will need to first link your Alaska and Lyft accounts.
Once you do, you'll earn 1 Alaska Mileage Plan mile per dollar spent at Lyft. Note that miles are earned on the base fare — not including taxes, fees, and tips.
Through the end of 2022, you could earn 2 Alaska miles per dollar spent. However, all Lyft rides now earn just 1 Alaska Mileage Plan mile per dollar spent.
Earning Bilt Points with Lyft
Not to be outdone, Bilt Rewards just announced a partnership with Lyft in March 2023. Bilt markets this partnership as the ability to earn up to 5 Bilt Rewards points per dollar spent. However, 3 of those points are for paying for your Lyft ride with the The Bilt Mastercard®. You'll earn a base of 2 points per dollar for choosing Bilt as your preferred loyalty partner with Lyft.
You can link your Bilt Rewards account inside the Lyft app:
If you're a Bilt Rewards member, earning 2x Bilt Rewards points earning rate is likely to be an attractive option. Bilt offers 14 transfer partners — including some rare transfer partners (e.g. American Airlines AAdvantage) and some very valuable transfer partners (e.g. World of Hyatt).
What Is The Best Miles And Points Partner For Lyft Rides?
While it's great to have several different options for earning miles and points through Lyft, the catch is that you can't double (or triple or quadruple) dip. You'll have to decide between earning Delta miles, Alaska miles, Bilt Rewards, or Hilton points.
If you're not sure if you have already connected any of these accounts to your Lyft account, you can check your Lyft connected accounts here to see which one is currently active. To change your active loyalty program partner, just choose Change Partner from your Lyft settings.
But which should you choose? That's going to partially depend on how you value each of these different kinds of miles and points. Based on recent award redemptions, AwardWallet users have averaged:
- 1.38¢ cents per Delta SkyMile
- 0.58¢ cents per Hilton Honors point
- 2.57¢ cents per Alaska Mileage Plan mile
The Alaska and Bilt partnerships offer a flat earning amount (1 Alaska mile and 2 Bilt Rewards points) for all purchases. But, the Delta and Hilton partnerships earn a bit differently, with rates varying depending on whether it's a shared ride or if you're heading to or from the airport.
At these earning rates, you'll likely want to choose between Delta SkyMiles and Bilt Rewards points if you want to maximize your rewards earnings while riding with Lyft. Choose Delta if you're going to or from the airport or if you're not a Bilt Rewards member. Otherwise, choose Bilt in most other scenarios.
If you value Delta, Alaska, Bilt, and Hilton miles and points at a different rate, you'll need to do the math for yourself to see which makes the most sense.
Earning JetBlue TrueBlue Points with Lyft No Longer Possible
You used to be able to also earn up to 30 JetBlue TrueBlue points for every Lyft ride. Unfortunately, that partnership ended in September 2019. Now, the only available Lyft partnerships are with Delta, Bilt, Alaska, and Hilton.
Best Credit Cards for Lyft Purchases
The other part of the double-dip is making sure that you're maximizing your credit card earnings on Lyft rides. Currently, the best credit cards for Lyft rides are:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: 10X Ultimate Rewards points now through March 2025
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 5X Ultimate Rewards points now through March 2025
- American Express® Green Card: 3X Membership Rewards points on transit — including rideshare services
Bottom Line
In conclusion, these types of partnerships are outstanding news for travelers. Any opportunity that you have to earn extra miles and points is a great bonus and something to be aware of. Take the time now to link Lyft to your preferred loyalty program so that you'll earn points and miles on every Lyft ride.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Wish they would still allow both, but my main concern is making sure that I book through a portal to get cash back on my rides. Too often I forget to do so. Don’t be like me. ?
I actually went with Hilton over Delta because I don’t use Lyft that much and I feel my Hilton points add up quicker to a free night vs. a free flight on Delta.
The Lyft/Seamless partnership also ended.
Just activated!! Thanks for the comparison chart that makes the choice easy.