The New Uber Visa Card

Uber, Visa and Barclays recently hosted an event in Los Angeles designed to promote the rich benefits of a new credit card.

I accepted an invitation to fly in, dine with execs, spend the night at the SLS hotel and learn more about it.

This occurred before Uber’s recent data breach was revealed, so I held off on publishing this post until the storm began to clear.

Uber’s is only the latest of many data breaches affecting frequent travelers in recent years.

While the company says that the data hack only exposed user names, email addresses and phone numbers, it is still disconcerting.

So is your credit card application information safe with Uber? Well, after poking around a bit I found out that Uber does not actually store any credit card numbers or application information at all, it’s all handled by banks and payment processors according to a spokesperson.

So why in the world is a ride share company getting into the credit card biz?

Well, of course Uber wants to offer a practical and valuable product to its customers. But on its road to profitability, a key reason is money.

Despite some recent, well-publicized bumps, Uber has broad brand recognition and a loyal, lucrative and spendy customer base.

Banks are eager to tap into that crowd, and are willing to pay Uber handsomely for access to them.

And how do they get to them? By wrapping up a lot of valuable benefits into a no-fee credit card that has pricked up the ears of frequent travelers from coast to coast.

With the new Uber Visa Card issued by Barclays, the ride-sharing company has jumped into the co-branded credit card space just like big travel brands like Delta or Marriott, which have earned millions if not billions of dollars with their co-branded cards.

It’s a win-win-win situation: Banks get access to big spending frequent travelers, travel brands and processors like Visa earn money on each transaction, and travelers get a card with a rich roster of benefits.

This new card is worth considering if you:

- Don’t like paying annual fees for credit cards

- Eat at restaurants or have food delivered often

- Travel frequently

- Use Uber

- Watch Netflix, listen to Spotify or shop on Amazon Prime

- Carry an expensive mobile phone

- Use a credit card overseas

- Don’t have time for tedious credit card applications

- Sound like you? It sure sounds like me.

The new card has a $0 annual fee. That’s surprising considering its benefits. Use it to dine out and you get 4 percent back. Put your airline and hotel (or Airbnb) charges on the card and you get 3 percent back.

Online shopping and Uber rides earn 2 percent cash back, a bit of a surprise to me I would think they’d earn 4 percent since this is the Uber card.

In addition to what you get back, bennies include a $50 credit you can apply to your annual Netflix, Spotify or Amazon Prime among other subscriptions.

Pay your phone bill with the card and you get $600 in insurance in case of loss or theft.

For globetrotters, there are no irritating foreign transaction fees– very rare for a no-fee card.

To get these add-ons, you must spend at least $5,000 per year on the card. As an incentive to sign up, if you spend $500 in the first 90 days and you get $100 10,000 points in credits.

But perhaps what is most interesting about this card is how you sign up for it. You can do it the old way of course.

But get this: you can sign up for it within the Uber app, which pre-populates your application with pertinent info, leaving only a few key blanks for you to fill in.

Uber suggests you sign up for the card during your next Uber ride, and says it’s likely you’ll be approved for it by the time you get out of the car. Try that and let us know if it worked!

Have you or would you get the Uber Visa card?

Disclosure: The Uber Visa Card paid for my flight and one night hotel stay in Los Angeles.


Tourism Observer

USA: Girl Hacks Uber Driver To Death In Chicago With Stolen Machete

A 16-year-old girl stole a machete and a knife from a Walmart before climbing into an Uber car and hacking into the driver who later died, a Chicago court has heard.

The driver died of his wounds after giving police a description of the attacker, leading to her arrest.

A prosecutor read out an account of the attack, saying Eliza Wasni climbed into a car driven by 34-year-old Grant Nelson and attacked him with the knife and machete.

The judge ordered the girl, who was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, to be held without bond.

The two-page description offered no reason for the attack, but portrayed Wasni as a calm girl who "nonchalantly" could be seen walking through Walmart, the knives in hand, before she walked outside without paying.

Assistant public defender David McMahon said Wasni had no previous criminal record, attended high school and lived with her mother.

Prosecutors said Nelson, a resident of Wilmette in Illinois, picked the girl up shortly after 3am on Tuesday (local time).

It was her third ride in an Uber vehicle in the early morning hours of Tuesday.

Two minutes after he began driving, prosecutors said Wasni began stabbing Nelson from the back seat.

Nelson was able to pull over and ran into a nearby condominium building, where he screamed, "Help me, help me! I'm going to die!" until residents called emergency services.

Wasni climbed into the front seat of Nelson's blood-splattered silver sedan and drove away, striking a median strip in the road.

She jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot.

When police arrived, they found the vehicle with blood on both the inside and the outside, with Nelson's phone open to the Uber app.

The app said Nelson's passenger was someone named Eliza.

Officers followed the trial of blood and found Nelson lying in grass.

He was bleeding profusely from several wounds, and was able to tell the officers what had happened. He died at a nearby hospital a few hours later.

Using the description given by Nelson, police found Wasni nearby crouching behind an air conditioner with a machete in one hand and a knife in the other.

Police warned her that she would be shot with a Taser if she did not drop the weapons, and when she did not comply an officer used the Taser.

Wasni dropped the knives and was taken into custody. Police said she did not make a statement.

According to prosecutors, police recovered a shirt the girl could be seen wearing in the Walmart. The shirt had blood on it.

Uber officials said the company was working with police to provide information relevant to the investigation.

We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our partners, Uber said in a statement.

Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

Nelson's sister, Alex Nelson, told local media her brother was a good person.

He was not a vindictive person, Alex Nelson said.

He was not a cruel person. He didn't deserve this fate.

USA: IHG Do Business With Uber

InterContinental Hotels Group announced today a new collaboration designed to make it easier and more rewarding for guests to get to and from their hotels. From this week, anyone who is traveling within the U.S. and signs up as a new Uber rider can earn 2,000 IHG® Rewards Club points and $20 off their first ride with Uber. Now, travelers can conveniently request a ride from the award-winning IHG® App through the Uber API and in early 2016, they will be able to set Uber “Ride Reminders.”

Lara Hernandez, Vice President, Digital, Loyalty and Partner Marketing, The Americas, IHG said, “IHG Rewards Club is constantly evolving, based on member and consumer insights, to ensure we are delivering the most innovative, relevant and rewarding experiences for our guests. Our strategic relationship with Uber coupled with our digitally-driven innovations already in market, allow our guests to have a seamless experience throughout their travel journey.”

Guests can enjoy the benefits of this new partnership by following these simple steps:

• Update the IHG App or download it here.

• Book a stay at an IHG hotel anywhere in the U.S.

• To get to your destination, select the Uber button in the
IHG App to request a ride.

• Guests will be directed to the Uber App where the hotel’s
address will be pre-populated. If the Uber App is not
installed on the guest’s mobile device, they will be directed
to an app install link.

• New Uber riders will receive $20 off their first ride and a
digital voucher code from Uber via email to deposit 2,000
IHG Rewards Club points into their member account.
Points can be redeemed toward a future stay at any of the
more than 4,900 IHG hotels in the world.

Jonathan DiOrio, Head of Travel, Entertainment and Venue Partnerships, Uber, added, “Both Uber and IHG are focused on combining travel with technology to provide a better experience for users. We are excited to offer Uber’s rapidly growing service to the millions of IHG Rewards Club members traveling throughout the U.S. each year.”