Amex Uber Credit Change

There is a new Amex Uber credit change that could be looked at as a devaluation of this credit card perk. The change in terms was first noticed by Reddit user jmcapitulo. I'll go over the change in detail and then share why this could be just a minor deal, or could potentially be something much more annoying.

Were There Any Changes Now That This Is Live?

The changes went into affect in early November, but December was the first month we really got to see it in action. It doesn't seem like much changed to be honest. I still received the credits in the form of Uber Cash. We had thought that they would require you to first pay with your Amex card and that would in turn earn you a statement credit. That doesn't seem to be the case though. Here is what the benefit email said for this month:

Effective November 8, 2024, in addition to having Uber Cash toggled on, an American Express Card must be selected as the payment method for your transaction to redeem Uber Cash received through the Amex Benefit.

It appears that they are still loading our accounts with Uber Cash and we just need to have an Amex card selected for the overage. I was able to get the Uber Cash to show as usable while selecting a non Amex card too though. I am not sure if that would reverse after final booking, if they haven't worked out the kinks yet or if these rules are all just lip service. It is probably best just to select an Amex and skip all the potential nonsense though.

Which American Express Cards Have Uber Credit?

One of the biggest coupons in the Amex coupon book line up of credit cards is a monthly Uber credit. They break these up by month, versus one lump sum credit, in the hope to cause breakage and that you miss some months. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to bank this Uber credit like you can with the newer Dunkin' Donuts credit. Here are the American Express cards that offer an Uber credit:

• Amex Gold
  • $10 monthly Uber / UberEats credit.
• Amex Platinum
  • $15 Uber / UberEats monthly credit. (Bonus amount in December)

What Has Changed?

What is this Amex Uber credit change exactly, and why should we care about it? Here are the updated terms that American Express slid into the statements:

Please Note: To utilize your Monthly Premium Benefits, you'll need to select your Amex card as your payment method for trips/orders starting November 8, 2024.

Why This Uber Credit Terms Change Matters

In the past the monthly Uber credit would automatically be loaded to your account without you needing to do anything. Well, once you add your eligible Amex card to your Uber account at least. Then it would essentially be like any other gift card balance on your account, where you can use it however you want and in combination with any other credit card on your account to pay any remaining charges.

This term update could mean two things, first that you will need to use your Amex card to make the rest of the payment, assuming the credit doesn't cover the full cost. That is a bit of a bummer, since other cards earn at a better rate than the Amex Gold of Amex Platinum on ride charges. If this is all it is then it probably isn't a huge deal, but more of a nuisance of picking the right card etc.

The second option is that you need to bill the entire thing to your Amex card and then get a statement credit. This would be a big bummer and devalue the perk a lot for anyone with more than one Amex credit on their account.

What If They Break Out The Credits?

Where this could get tricky is how this is enforced. Will the credit from the card be tied to that specific card? Would that mean that the credit from multiple cards would no longer be combinable and would instead require separate transactions for each Amex card that you have? That would devalue this perk greatly for anyone with multiple cards that offer the Uber credit.

How Will This Interact With Your Other Uber Credit?

Another question is whether or not the Amex credit still be co-mingled with other Uber credit that you load to your account? Or, will it be broken out separately? If it is still mixed then this could be an easy way to work around this new rule some. Although, that would require you to add more Uber cash credit to your account, which isn't always the best.

If they require you to just charge it fully to the card then you will have to have your credit sitting there even longer.

Amex Uber Credit Change: ToP Thoughts

Until this Amex Uber credit change is installed we won't know for sure if this is just a minor nuisance and a real problem / devaluation. It has been clear over the years that American Express will do whatever they can to cause breakage. They don't really want people to be able to easily use their card's credits, but rather want to be able to advertise them without incurring the full cost of them. This is yet another move proving that fact. I hope that this will just mean that you need to use an Amex card when paying any balance above the credit, but time will tell if it is much worse than that or not.

Let me know your thoughts over in the ToP Facebook Group.