There are many different ways to earn miles and points. We often talk about some of the more “obvious” ways to earn, like spending on credit cards, flying on a plane. or staying at a hotel. However, there are other ways to boost your earnings from everyday activities. Every little bit helps, and you’ll want to make sure to take advantage of these opportunities if you want to truly maximize your points earning.
When traveling with ride-hailing service Lyft, you’ll earn miles, points, or cash back depending on what credit card you use to pay for your ride. But thanks to these partnerships, you can also double-dip by earning Hilton points or Delta SkyMiles.
Earning Delta SkyMiles with Lyft
In 2017, Lyft started a partnership with Delta Air Lines, where you can earn Delta SkyMiles on every ride that you take with Lyft. To earn SkyMiles with your Lyft rides, you’ll first need to link your Lyft and Delta accounts.
Once you link your accounts, you’ll earn SkyMiles at the following rates:
- Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all rides. This is applicable on all Lyft rides, including Lyft Line, Plus, Premier, and Classic. However, it excludes spend on tips, tolls, and taxes.
- Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on all rides to airport locations. This is marketed as a “limited time” offer but has been continually extended since it was first introduced back in 2018.
If you don’t already have a Lyft account, you can sign up through Delta and receive a $20 Lyft credit, split into two individual $10 Lyft ride credits
Earning Hilton Points with Lyft
Lyft and Hilton first introduced their partnership back in June of 2019, where you can additionally earn Hilton Honors points with every Lyft ride. To take advantage of this promotion, you must first link your Hilton and Lyft accounts.
You’ll earn Hilton Honors points on Lyft rides in the U.S. and Canada at the following rates:
- 3x Hilton points for every $1 spent on economy, luxury, and extra-seat rides
- 2x Hilton points for every $1 spent on shared rides
You can earn Hilton Honors points on a maximum of $10,000 in Lyft rides per calendar year. If you’re not already a Lyft member, signing up through Lyft will also give you $5 off each of your first three rides with Lyft (for a potential savings of $15).
You can also redeem Hilton Honors points for Lyft credits, at the following rate:
- $10 Lyft credit = 4,500 Points
- $25 Lyft credit = 11,250 Points
- $50 Lyft credit = 22,500 Points
- $75 Lyft credit = 33,750 Points
- $100 Lyft credit = 45,000 Points
This values Hilton Honors at a rate of 0.22 cents per point. That’s not a great redemption for your Hilton Honors points. In recent redemptions, AwardWallet users have averaged 0.64 cents per Hilton Honors point when redeeming Hilton points for hotel stays.
Should You Earn Delta Miles or Hilton Points From Lyft Rides?
Lyft users used to be able to triple-dip on Lyft rides — earning Delta SkyMiles, Hilton Honors points, and rewards from the credit card you actually use to pay for the Lyft ride itself. Unfortunately, this is no longer be possible as of June 30, 2021. Now, Lyft users need to decide between earning either Delta miles or Hilton points.
If you were connected to both Delta and Hilton accounts, Lyft automatically kept the one that you linked first and revoked your connection to the other program. You can check your Lyft connected accounts here to see which one Lyft kept.
But which should you choose? That’s going to partially depend on how you value Delta miles and Hilton points. Based on recent award redemptions, AwardWallet users have averaged:
- 2.18 cents per Delta SkyMile
- 0.61 cents per Hilton Honors point
The Delta and Hilton partnerships earn a bit differently. But, at these values, Delta comes out ahead no matter the ride:
| Hilton Earning Rate | Value of Hilton Points Earned | Delta Earning Rate | Value of Delta Miles Earned | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airport rides (economy, luxury and extra seats) | 3X points | 1.83 cents | 2X miles | 4.36 cents |
| Airport rides (shared) | 2X points | 1.22 cents | 2X miles | 4.36 cents |
| Non-airport rides (economy, luxury and extra seats) | 3X points | 1.83 cents | 1X miles | 2.18 cents |
| Non-airport rides (shared) | 2X points | 1.22 cents | 1X miles | 2.18 cents |
If you value Hilton points or Delta miles at a different rate, you’ll need to do the math for yourself to see which makes the most sense.
Earning JetBlue TrueBlue Points with Lyft No Longer Possible
You used to be able to also earn up to 30 JetBlue TrueBlue points for every Lyft ride, but sadly that partnership ended in September 2019. Now the only available Lyft partnerships are with Delta and Hilton.
Best Credit Cards for Lyft Purchases
The other part of the double-dip is making sure that you’re maximizing your credit card earnings on Lyft rides. Currently, the best credit cards for Lyft rides are:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: 10X Ultimate Rewards points now through March 2025
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 5X Ultimate Rewards points now through March 2025
- American Express® Green Card: 3X Membership Rewards points on transit — including rideshare services
Bottom Line
These types of partnerships are outstanding news for travelers. Any opportunity that you have to earn extra miles and points is a great bonus and something to be aware of.
