Summary Lyft's partnership with Delta SkyMiles offers riders unique mile-earning opportunities on their rides. Competitors like Uber and Marriott Bonvoy offer weaker loyalty programs in comparison to Lyft's Delta partnership. The Lyft-Delta partnership has driven Lyft's market share growth and exposed it to a massive customer base, benefiting both companies.
The rideshare market is defined as a unique battle between two major companies that burst onto the scene in the early 2010s, each of which prompted a bold image to draw customers away from traditional taxicabs and other forms of ride-hailing transportation. In search of continual market share growth, both Uber and Lyft have gone out of their way to continue offering passengers unique rewards and benefits for consistently choosing them over the competition. Both Uber and Lyft have cash-back-style benefits, and each partners with different hotel chains and airlines to offer loyalty program members the opportunity to earn miles along the way.
Among these partnerships, there is none more important than the one between Lyft and Delta SkyMiles, the only one of its kind and one that continues to wield major influence today. This partnership, which originated back in 2017, remains the only active loyalty agreement of its kind directly between a major American legacy carrier and a rideshare service that allows passengers to directly earn miles from the rides they take. The value of such a collaborative agreement continues to serve.