You can quickly find out how much this ride will cost you in the Uber app after entering your location. The app does this by using several different factors. But it doesn’t make it very clear how Uber came up with the price it gave you.
There are a lot of fees that come with Uber rides. This guide will explain how much each mile costs, what cards are best for getting the most out of your Uber rides, and more.
How Much Does Uber Cost Each Mile?
How much your Uber ride costs depends on a lot of things, like where you’re going, how far you’re going, what time of day it is, and what kind of car you choose. If you want to get from Midtown Manhattan to JFK during rush hour, an Uber Black ride is probably going to cost a lot more than an UberX ride in Manhattan to get a drink with friends.
The average cost of an Uber ride is thought to be between $1 and $2 per mile. You should know that this is only one part of how Uber prices your ride; there are other fees as well. Let us look at those costs.
Guide to Uber Fees
There are a lot of fees that can add up to the total price of your Uber ride. If you’ve ever looked at your ticket after the ride, you may have seen these. Most fees look like these:
- Booking Fee: A flat fee is added to each ride to cover the costs of running the business. The fee goes up or down depending on how far the trip is, but the most you can charge is $10 for a booking.
- Service fee: Uber drivers get paid a service fee that changes from trip to trip. If you take out tips, tolls, and some fees, taxes, and extras, it’s the difference between how much a rider pays and how much a driver makes on a trip. However, it’s not always charged for every trip.
- Surge Pricing: When there are a lot of requests, Uber adds a percentage to the normal rate, which can make a ride a lot more expensive than what would normally be charged for the same route.
- Extra Fees and Tolls: Any tolls or surcharges that happen during the ride must be paid for by the riders. These fees may be different for each place and route.
- Local Fees: Depending on where you live, you may have to pay extra fees because of state laws. Like, all Uber rides in New York cost more because of the New York State Black Car Fund.
- Airport Fee: Some airports may charge extra for Uber rides to and from them.
- Wait Time Fee: In some places, you’ll be charged extra for each minute your driver had to wait for you to get into the car after getting to the pickup spot.
- Fees for Cancellations: You will be charged $10 to cancel your UberX ride if you do it more than two minutes after your request was accepted or if your driver cancels after waiting at your pickup spot for at least five minutes.
- Tax on Sales: A set amount added to your ride based on the sales tax rate in the area where you went.
- Cleaning Fee: Riders are responsible for any damage to the inside or outside of a car that is caused by things like throwing up or food spills. How much you are charged for cleaning depends on how much damage there is.
Which Credit Cards Work Best for Uber Rides?
If you use Uber a lot, these are the credit cards we think will help you get the most out of your rides.
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Savor card might be the best credit card for Uber purchases because it gives you 10% cash back on Uber rides and Uber Eats purchases, which is the highest rate in the industry. Plus, until November 14, 2024, you can get a free Uber One membership, which normally costs $9.99 a month. As an Uber One member, you can get 5% off Uber rides, use top-rated drivers, have Uber Eats deliveries delivered for free forever, and more.
Simply put, the Capital One Savor card gives you almost as much cash-back on Uber purchases as this one does. It also gives you 4% cash-back on dining out, entertainment, and popular streaming services, plus 3% cash-back at grocery stores, making it a very well-rounded cash-back earner.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
You might be surprised that the Amex Platinum card is on this list, since it doesn’t have a bonus spending category for Uber. Instead, you’ll only get 1x points for Uber orders made with this card. It does, however, give you up to $200 a year in Uber Cash that you can use for both Uber and Uber Eats! The $200 credit is given out every month in $15 amounts, plus an extra $35 in December.
If you use the rideshare service or food delivery at least once a month, you should be able to get the most out of it. Besides that, the Amex Platinum card has a lot of benefits. It gives you entry to the best airport lounges of any card, as well as an annual credit for hotel and airline fees, an annual CLEAR Plus credit, an annual digital entertainment credit, and a lot more.
American Express® Gold Card
Like the Amex Platinum card, the Amex Gold card doesn’t give you extra points for Uber rides, but it does give you up to $120 in Uber Cash every year, which you can get in $10 amounts. You’ll also get 4x points at restaurants, 4x points at U.S. supermarkets on purchases up to $25,000 per year (after that, 1x points), and 3x points on direct airline ticket sales. Plus, you’ll get up to $120 in dining credit every year.
American Express® Green Card
If you use Uber a lot, the Amex Green card is a great choice because you can earn three times as many points on all transit purchases, including Uber rides. It also gives you three times as many points at restaurants around the world and on all qualified travel purchases. Finally, you can get up to $189 off your annual statement to pay for a CLEAR Plus membership.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
When you use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay for travel, including rideshare services like Uber, you earn two points for every dollar spent.
The card also gets 5x points on all travel booked through the Chase Travel portal, 5x points on Lyft purchases (until March 31, 2025), and 3x points on purchases made at restaurants, online grocery stores, and some streaming services. Because of its flexible ways to redeem points, card perks, and great travel insurance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of our top picks for travel rewards cards.
Read More: Is It Worth It to Purchase Travel Insurance in April of 2024?
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Last Thoughts
In the end, the price of an Uber ride per mile will depend on a lot of things, such as the type of ride you choose, where you are going, how far you are going, and the time of day.
Also, remember that there are fees like tolls, city fees, taxes, airport fees, and more that could change the price of your ride. Having said that, if you regularly spend money on Uber, you might want to carry a credit card with you to get the most out of all your purchases.