Save money and enjoy VIP perks with the best credit cards for Uber, Lyft and taxi rides

Transportation is the second largest expenditure for most Americans after housing, so it’s important to make the most of these purchases.

While a number of credit cards offer bonus rewards on gas station spending, many individuals commute by other means. Fortunately, as the popularity of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft has skyrocketed over the last decade, many credit card issuers have met cardholders with additional rewards for these transactions.

So if you regularly use rideshares or taxis to get around your own city, or while traveling, you may consider signing up for a card that offers bonus points, cash-back or other perks for those purchases. Here are Select’s picks for the top credit cards for maximizing Uber, Lyft and taxi rides.

Who’s this for? The American Express® Gold Card is a solid travel rewards credit card for those who frequently use Uber to get around.

The card comes with up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month), which can be used for Uber rides or Uber Eats orders. And the credits are simple to use — all you need to do is add your Amex Gold Card as a payment method on your Uber account and you’ll automatically receive $10 in your Uber Cash wallet each month. After you’ve maxed out the credit, you’ll earn 1X Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on Uber.

Other perks of the card include up to $120 in annual dining credits (up to $10 per month) for purchases made with Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory and certain Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.

The card has a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees), but as long as you use these monthly credits, you will almost entirely offset that fee.

Who’s this for? The Platinum Card® from American Express is a must-have for road warriors, especially if you regularly use Uber.

With the card, you will get $200 in annual Uber credit — $15 each month, plus an additional $20 in December. In addition, you will get automatic Uber VIP status which gives you access to highly-rated drivers in the following cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Harrisburg, Houston, Nashville, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. You’ll also earn 1X Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on Uber beyond the monthly credit.

The Uber benefits are just a few of the long list of travel benefits that come with the Amex Platinum, so if you’re regularly on the road, it’s worth considering for your wallet. Other benefits include an annual airline fee credit, hotel credit and extensive airport lounge access, as well as numerous non-travel perks like shopping credits, digital entertainment credits and much more.

While the card has a steep $695 annual fee (see rates and fees), the benefits and features of the card more than make up for it.

Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium travel credit card that is offers a terrific return on Lyft rides.

Cardholders earn a whopping 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on Lyft purchases through March 2025. Since Ultimate Rewards can be valued up to two cents per point, this means you’re effectively getting 20% back in value. Plus, the card offers 3X points (a 6% return) on all other travel, which includes Uber and taxi rides.

On top of this, the card comes with numerous other benefits like airport lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit and comprehensive travel insurance to help justify its $550 annual fee.

Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great low-annual-fee travel rewards card, especially for consumers who use Lyft occasionally.

Cardholders earn a respectable 5X points per dollar spent on Lyft rides, as well as any travel purchased through the Chase travel portal. Cardholders earn 2X points on all other travel purchases, such as Uber and taxi rides.

The card has an annual fee of just $95 and includes benefits like a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit and up to $10 in monthly GoPuff credits.

Who’s this for? The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an excellent choice for those who want to earn significant cash-back on their purchases, but also want flexibility on how they get around.

If you prefer taxis, or even a mix of rideshare services as well, this card gives 3% cash back on transit, which includes taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses, and more.

In addition, this card awards up to 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year in purchases) and 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.

If the annual cash-back earnings aren’t enough, the card also has a welcome bonus of a $350 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first six months. The annual fee of this card is $95. (See rates and fees.)

Who’s this for? The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is a good pick for someone whose spending habits fluctuate from month to month and doesn’t want to pay an annual fee. With this card, you’ll earn up to 5% cash back on purchases in the top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1%).

Eligible spending categories include gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment.

So if you regularly use any rideshare service, you’ll earn up to $25 cash back each quarter without any annual fee.

The best credit cards for Uber and Lyft are ones that reward the most points, miles or cash back. However, be sure to select a card that also aligns with your financial goals as well.

Rideshare and commuting costs can add up quickly if you use them on a regular basis. If this is your preferred way of getting around, you may consider having one of these credit cards in your wallet.

However, many of these cards require a good to excellent credit score to be approved. So before applying, it may be beneficial to check your credit score to ensure you have a good chance of being approved.

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed 111 of the most popular credit cards available in the U.S. that offer rewards programs, from cash back to points and miles. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit score and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company’s data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri’s data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

It’s important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming points/miles for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.)

Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns, since it’s generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.

While the five-year estimates we’ve included are derived from a budget similar to the average American’s spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of the The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please click here.