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Our family loves Uber. We take it around town, to the airport, or when mom & dad are going out and there will be too much wine involved. It’s an easy, affordable way to ditch the car and have a comfortable ride at your fingertips. Uber is also a great way to get around a new city! No need to worry about parking or traffic, and no need to navigate an unfamiliar, local, taxi system. The beauty of Uber is you know the price (or at least approximately) when you call the car, eliminating the age-old saga of taxi drivers ripping off tourists. Did you know you can save money on EVERY Uber ride, and maybe even score an {almost} free uber ride? Keep reading to find out how!
How to Earn an {almost} Free Uber Ride
Back in August, when we travelled to California we took MANY Ubers. Between staying in downtown San Francisco, to wine tasting through the Central Valley, and even ditching the car to get to and from Disneyland in Anaheim. To start, taking Uber was definitely cheaper than renting a car in San Fran. But to save even more money, I discovered a GREAT Uber Money Saving tip, which I am so excited to share with you!
UBER MONEY SAVING TIP
This trick is so simple, anyone with a smart phone can save $1 on EVERY Uber ride they take. And obviously if you are hailing an Uber, you have a smart phone! AND there is the potential to save even more. So let’s get you started!
Don’t have uber? Sign up here:
To save $1 off each Uber ride, follow these easy steps:
First you need to sign up for ibotta. By clicking on my referral link, you will also earn $10 after you redeem your first rebate!
And by the way, I mean earn CASH, not points, gift cards or any of that! Money that you can transfer back to your PayPal or Venmo. You can also cash out by requesting a check be sent to you. And for what its worth, you can actually cash out into gift cards if that’s your jam.
So once you sign up for ibotta, download the app from the app store. Then head to the ibotta homepage and find the Uber icon. It will be either under Featured Stores, right on the Dashboard, or you can Search for it.
Before you hail your car, use ibotta to open Uber. You must do this within 3 hours of hailing your car.
Open your ibotta app FIRST, then click on the Uber icon. Next you press SHOP AT UBER, and it will open up your Uber app. You do need to first link ibotta to Uber but that only takes a second and it prompts you what to do – its so easy, I PROMISE!
Then you proceed as you normally would within the Uber app, choosing your Uber and ultimately completing your ride. Once you receive that email from Uber about your ride being complete, in the next hour or so you will receive a similar email from ibotta saying you were credited back $1 for the ride.
That {almost} Free Uber Ride or How I took an Uber ride for 14 cents
A dollar back on a ride you were going to take anyway? Not bad! But what if I told you, I earned EVEN more back on all these Uber rides? Like AN ADDITIONAL $1.25 per ride?
Or that I was able to take an Uber ride in California for 14 CENTS!?!?!?! Come on – thats practically a free Uber ride!
So another great thing about ibotta is the more you earn, the more you earn. Rebates start to snowball with “bonuses.” To see all the bonuses available, click on the ACCOUNT icon on the bottom right of your screen and then click on Bonuses.
Last August, Uber had a bonus available on ibotta. For every 4 rides, you received a $5 Uber credit. So not exactly cash, but this was money I was going to spend anyway as we were Uber’ing all over the place in California.
And a $5 Uber credit is awesome, and would really make a dent in a larger fare, like to or from an airport.
To redeem this $5 Uber credit, I was emailed a promo code, which I entered into my Uber app BEFORE hailing the car through ibotta. So it basically took 15 extra seconds to cut and paste a code, go back to ibotta, SHOP Uber, hail the car and be on my way. The $5 was then automatically deducted from my Uber fare.
But wait! Remember, I also hailed this Uber through ibotta, so after the ride was complete, I received my $1 credit back. So this particular ride literally cost me 14 CENTS.
I had another ride on this trip cost me 46 CENTS through this same process… big spender I am, I know!
Overall I saved about $25 on this one-week trip, doing what I was going to do anyway!
I first came across ibotta through this post by Victoria from One Sharp Mama (Also be sure to read Victoria’s VERY POPULAR Momma To Go article, Carnival Pride Cruising Tips). I’m pretty sure this app started as a way to earn rebates on groceries, which you do by scanning your receipt after shopping. Which I have done, and its not too complicated. Takes about 5-10 minutes of work to earn a nice little cashout on products you want to buy anyway!
ibotta seems to keep adding retailers, especially online ones that are so easy to click through and earn the rebate. Recently they added target.com & walmart.com – I know I will be using these for my upcoming Holiday Shopping! ibotta just added Trader Joe’s, and they feature other sites I regularly use like Groupon, Boxed, and some products from Amazon.
Since I am a travel blogger, it caught my eye that there is a whole tab for travel related purchases – in fact you can save $10 on your upcoming HomeAway/VRBO rental! Other travel sites include HotelTonight, Hotwire, LivingSocial, CheapOair and Booking.com. I mean if you are going to use these sites anyway, might as well click through from ibotta and save a few bucks!
A few other ibotta tips:
- With the grocery rebates, I found it easiest to look through the rebates BEFORE I shopped, and making a list of what to buy. Maybe this sounds obvious to most, but the first few shopping trips I took I shopped, then tried to find rebates on what I bought. But then I realized I maybe bought the wrong quantity or could have swapped out a similar brand for one that offered a rebate.
- For the groceries, note quantity or size that qualifies for the rebate. Sometimes you have to buy two of a product, etc.
- I’m not a big couponer, but I do know that if you buy something you don’t need, just because you have a coupon, or in this case a rebate, then you really aren’t saving money. However, I like that ibotta seems to feature both products I am going to buy anyway, and new products that I might not otherwise think to try! This month I tried Rx Bars, Kellogg’s Protein Bites and Deep River Jalapeno chips because they were on rebate through ibotta. PS. I liked all of those products!
- The person who referred you, and the folks you then refer become your team. As a group, if you meet certain thresholds you can unlock more bonuses. Another incentive to join my team… clearly I am performing well with all these Uber rebates!
- Offers change. When I got home from California, I went to book an Uber through ibotta and Uber was no longer being offered. Now (end of October 2017) its back. I’m not sure the rhyme or reason here. Grocery products seem to swap out monthly.
I’m all about saving money, especially on things I am going to buy anyway! I’m lazy with having to do too much for deals, but ibotta is a no-brainer. I highly recommend checking out ibotta, you really have nothing to lose!
If you haven’t already CLICK HERE to get started with ibotta! It’t totally FREE and you will get $10 after your redeem your first rebate!
Have you tried ibotta? Saved money on Uber or travel? What are your best Uber money saving tips?
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OTHER GREAT TRAVEL TIPS:
Surviving Long Flights with Kids
How to plan your Hawaii Vacation
How to get to JFK on public transportation
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I was just about to get an Uber (in San Francisco even) so doing everything you said here! Perfect timing. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I love Ibotta and using Uber! Thanks for sharing your insight!
We use Uber occasionally but have never heard of Ibotta. Definitely checking it out.
Wow what an awesome savings! I’ve never taken an Uber, but I’ll remember these tips when I do!
awesome job for finding a great deal like this thanks for passing it along
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This is great! I love Ibotta! I’m with you about the being lazy with too much to do part. Literally how I am every day! I’ve never used Uber in America, but in China, they have a similar thing that I have used several times.
I have yet to try out Uber but I love these savings! I’ll have to try it out someday.
I had no idea about this and we are avid Uber users ourselves. My husband will be so excited to hear about this!
try it! Its so easy!
I’m not a fan of Uber usually but I like that pricing! And you are right about taxis etc in a new city
Love these tips! I had no idea about most of them 🙂 I don’t use Uber too often but am planning more city trips in the future and will be sure to remember this info! Thanks for sharing
This is such a neat idea! We use Ola in Bangalore all the time – it’s the Indian version of Uber, although they have Uber too. You can even order your tuk-tuk on it! Thanks for linking up to #fearlessfamtrav
you can smartphone in your tuk-tuk? thats awesome!
Awesome job! I always forget to check Ibotta for these kinds of things (most of what I buy at the grocery store isn’t on there).
Wow – this is great! Thank you so much for the tutorial on saving money.
I love Uber, I use it anytime I’m in a big city. I haven’t used Ibotta yet, will have to check out all the saving it offers. Thanks for posting.
Literally always debating whether to take uber because I can never find coupons, but I’m glad I came across this post. Awesome tips!
i have not tried UBER before. saving money like this will tempt people like us to use Ibotta and Uber. Thanks for this nice review
I honestly, never actually took an Uber! 🙂 It’s a bout time I should, and this article comes in very handy when I will 🙂 Thanx!
Haha! I was about to search about this topic, coz I’m going home to the Philippines and Uber has been a go to transportation… Thank you for sharing this Harmony 🙂
God Bless!
JM Kayne | http://www.iamjmkayne.com ♥
have a great trip!
Awesome tips! I relied on Uber SO much during my LA trip… it makes me sad it’s not really a big thing here in Munich (though it’s growing). Thanks for the great guide!
This is great! Uber isn’t super available in Ireland yet, and I’ve only used it in Dublin once…it has come in handy while in the states though and I am most certainly putting some of this into practice to save some cash. Thank you so much!
This is so great!! Never heard of ibotta but going to click on your link and check it out!
I live in SF so I use Uber all the time and I did that with Ibotta too! Such a great tip!
Great tips, we have only recently got uber where we live in Australia.
A wonderful tip to save on Uber for those who use it often. Thanks!
What a fantastic idea!! I love uber but it adds up so it is great to have a way to save money. And I have never even heard of this.. So great to find a new and super helpful tip.
so many great tips here, is Ibotta international ? – Is it funny that the first Uber I ever took was in Peru – But Uber is the best way to travel rather than getting ripped off in a taxi. your post just goes to show, even things that are cheaper than the conventional can still be cheaper still.
I’m not sure where ibotta reaches, probably just US… maybe Canada?
I live in a very rural area so I don’t use Uber unless I’m traveling to a city – I”ve used it in New Orleans and New York. Will have to follow your steps for the next time I’m traveling.
yes its great for getting around New York, esp the boros
Pretty flipping awesome mama!!! What a cheap ride. We are headed to Florida later this week and we will be needing an uber one night. Totally using your tips in this post.
Ps thanks for sharing my posts 😊
oh yes! thanks for introducing me to ibotta!
This is really cool! I’ve not heard of Ibotta before, but now I’m definitely going to use it. Uber is getting a little more expensive in our area. Saving anything, even just a dollar at times, would be a huge help. 🙂 Thanks for sharing these awesome money-saving tips!
I had no idea you could save so much money on Uber rides! Thank you for sharing this tip – I will have to sign up for ibotta – every $ counts, especially when you’re traveling!
I just took another Uber today – might as well save some $$$!
Never heard of ibotta, but will check it out !
Wow what an interesting App. I had never heard of it, but it makes sense. I am a total sucker for bargains and such an App is something that is righ up my ally. Thank you for linking up with Bebe Voyage #bebevoyage
What an interesting app. I had no idea it existed, but I am looking into it! Love a good deal!
June 2018 – Just downloaded and signed up for IBOTTA — and UBER is not showing results found. Is there an update to your post that UBER is no longer a feature for Ibotta?
ohhhh — i just read to the end and saw where it comes and goes. 🙂 Thanks!
yes, i called an uber recently and realized it was gone, but if the past is any proof, it will probably come back! I should make that more clear on my post!