Not long ago, if you wanted take away food you’d have to get up off your sofa, miss the best bits of Emmerdale Farm, get in the car and drive to whatever flavour took your fancy..then along came the gig economy and with it Deliveroo, Just Eat and a whole host of middle-man companies linking drivers to takeaways. Uber, with its established app based taxi on demand service, broke into the market and called it Uber Eats.
Uber is growing at a fast pace and in Q1 2024 posted its first ever profit, posting a 1.1bn USD operating income.
I’ve been using Uber for many years now and my monthly bill is around £300.
Cue Uber One..Uber’s £5.99 a month membership plan
Those who know me well, know that I love a subscription plan. But I only ever subscribe to anything if it gives me a genuine return ie gives back more than it costs.
Let’s look at what Uber One offers:
- Free delivery on Uber Eats for orders over £15
- Free delivery on Uber Groceries for orders over £15 (excludes tobacco)
- 5% discount on Uber Rides
- 10% discount for Uber Exec and Uber Lux Rides
- 5 x £10 discounts on your first five Uber Eats orders on first sign up
- Late delivery promise - if your order is delivered by an Uber Eats driver* after their latest delivery estimate, they’ll give you £5 credit for your next ride/order
*if the restaurant uses its own delivery staff, this guarantee does not apply - but they tell you either way in the app before you order
Uber Rides - how I profit..
I use Uber Rides weekly, often up to five times a week, in fact, all over the world. Wherever I am, I go to Uber Rides first before any other ride firm - my employer even has a discount code with them.
Occasionally, I’ll treat myself to Uber Exec (BMW 5-series, Audi A6 or Mercedes E-Class), or, as is the case recently, when I fell out of the Comedy Club in London, having had a few too many to drink, I’ll accidentally order Uber Lux (BMW 7-series, Audi A8 or Mercedes S-Class)
With Uber One/Rides, my savings in month one amounted to £20
Uber Eats - how I profit..
This is where it gets even more interesting. When I’m away from home, which is weekly, I use Uber Eats as an alternative to hotel food - most hotels are ok with you getting food delivered these days. That free delivery soon mounts up, although the £15 spend requirement, even around Heathrow, can mean you order more than is healthy, so I usually bulk up and buy extra bottles of water.
With Uber One/Eats, my savings in month one amounted to £23
Verdict
Anyone who has ever used Uber knows that it is far from a perfect service. Uber One does not replace or include any of Uber’s “priority delivery” services and nor does it, importantly, guarantee you an Uber Ride when you need one. You’ll know if you’ve used Uber already that Uber drivers pick and choose their jobs according to how busy it is or, frankly, if they can be bothered turning up - trying to get an Uber for shorter journeys at peak times in capital cities can be impossible. None of this changes with Uber One - so you really do need to focus purely on the numbers:
In my first free month with Uber One, I saved:
- £23 on Uber Eats
- £20 on Uber Rides
- £50 by using the 5 x £10 Uber Eats introductory discount vouchers
In future months, removing the introductory discounts, I’ll save about £45, minus the membership fee of £5.99, giving a decent return of circa £39
If you use Uber, the figures speak for themselves really..
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