Lyft Rewards is a program that helps high-performing Lyft drivers earn more for their work, with rewards ranging from things like gas cashback to free tax software. Today, we’re going to break down how the program works and what you need to do to unlock each tier’s benefits.
How Lyft Rewards Works
Lyft Rewards runs on a monthly cycle that resets on the first of each month at 5 AM. During each month, you earn tier points based on your ride earnings, with those points determining which benefits tier you’ll unlock for the following month.
There are currently four tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Elite.
You earn 1 point for every dollar you make from rides and tips, excluding bonuses and capped at $15 in tips per ride. You can also multiply your earning potential with high acceptance rates, giving you 2 or even 3 points per dollar instead of 1.
At the end of each month, you’re able to redeem your points at the Lyft shop for various services, gift cards, and even cash. These points expire after one year.
Related: Lyft Driver & Vehicle Requirements | How to Drive for Lyft (2025)
How to Qualify for Lyft Rewards
In order to qualify for Lyft Rewards, you will need to maintain these goals:
- A 4.9 rating or higher
- An acceptance rate of 30% or higher
- A cancellation rate of 6% or lower
- Fewer than 3 safety flags
The latter three requirements shouldn’t be too hard to meet. Accept more trips than you decline, don’t cancel after you accept, and drive safely.
A 4.9 acceptance rating, however, means that your service needs to be impeccable trip in and trip out. That’s simply not a lot of leeway to get low ratings.
Follow your passenger’s instructions, keep your car clean and tidy, and get them to their destinations on time and you’ll be able to maintain that rating. Most Lyft drivers hover around 4.7 to 4.85, so you’ll need to be among the best of the best in rating to qualify for Lyft Rewards.
Related: Driving for Uber vs. Lyft | Does Uber or Lyft Pay More?
What Are Lyft Reward’s Perks? | Lyft Rewards Perks Full List
Lyft Rewards’ perks are all about helping you save money on things related to your work at Lyft - gas, maintenance, taxes, etc. Here’s a full list of what the rewards are:
By far the biggest and most impactful perk is the cash back on gas (and EV charging if you have an electric vehicle). With Elite status giving you 10% cash back, that could easily add up to $400 to $700 per year on gas savings alone.
Destination filters can also be useful, allowing you to only accept rides heading toward where you want to go. You get 2 per day with Silver status, and this bumps all the way up to 6 if you’re Elite status, giving you much more choice over where and when you drive.
Other Lyft Rewards Elite Status Perks
In addition to getting 3x the daily destination filters as Silver status, you also get early access to scheduled rides which allows you to reserve high-paying trips in advance. On top of that, you get premium airport pickups, with you getting bumped up the airport queue by 30 minutes each and every time.
You may also get access to exclusive or limited-time promotions, such as access to Glow, a device that can help make your pickups faster and easier. All-in-all, if you do drive a lot for Lyft, you should make an effort to use the perks you have access to since every dollar counts.
Is Lyft Rewards Worth It in 2025?
While many of these perks can certainly help you save money, many argue that it’s just not worth it to meet Lyft’s requirements to get access to higher tiers. In fact, some say you may even lose more money than you’d gain!
A Reddit user asked whether achieving even Platinum status was worth it, with this being the top response:
“The pay isn’t any better. It might even be worse because they can see you are desperate to get that platinum status and will accept low pay to try and get it. I feel like I’ve been given an earnings cap the last week. I’ve been getting really low ball rates, even worse than their standard fare. I’m getting like 0.77$ a mile rates when it was at least $1 a mile. So no, the pay still sucks…”
Related: Free Uber/Lyft Vehicle Inspections Explained
While this is purely anecdotal, the rest of the comments seem to agree with this user, with another saying “I used to be platinum, so trust me. It ain't worth it. Decline trash rides.”
The reality is just that - if you want to get access to Lyft Rewards and rise in the tiers, you’ll need to accept low-quality trips more often, and you’ll also need to devote more of your time to Lyft specifically, which may result in more down time where you could instead be doing a trip for Uber or DoorDash.
Lyft Rewards FAQ
Q: What happens if I lose my qualification status?
A: You enter a 7-day grade period where you keep your current tier while working to meet the requirements. If you don’t qualify by day 7, you lose access to Lyft Rewards, but keep any earned points that can be redeemed once you requalify.
Q: Do tier points expire?
A: Tier points reset to zero each month, but do convert to shop points if you’ve reached Silver status or higher. They do expire after one year, so remember to use them!
Q: Can I lose Elite status protection?
A: Yes, protection only works if you’ve been Elite for 3+ months and maintain an 80% driving score. It’s a one-time safety net that resets every three months, not permanent status immunity.
Q: Is Lyft Rewards even worth it?
A: If you pretty much exclusively drive for Lyft, you may inadvertently qualify, assuming you have a decent acceptance rate. However, many say striving for Lyft Rewards may cost you more money in the long run than the perks would provide you. You may earn more from just having a lower acceptance rate but picking better rides and using other gig economy apps concurrently.
Related: Rideshare Tax Guide: What You Need To Know
Lyft Rewards Explained - Conclusion
Lyft Rewards does provide value to hardcore Lyft drivers, but whether it’s worth it to strive for may depend on how much you intend to drive specifically for Lyft. Depending on how your work shakes out, you may end up losing money trying to shoot for high Lyft Rewards tiers.
If you do want to obtain higher tiers, focus on maintaining a solid acceptance rate for point multiplication and time your driving to be conducive for driving for tier advancement, but make sure you’re tracking whether the benefits you’re chasing exceed the costs of obtaining them. You should treat Lyft Rewards as another tool to achieve profitability, not a goal in and of itself.
If you want to earn even more as a Lyft driver, you can start by tracking your mileage! Every year you could save thousands on your taxes by properly tracking your miles and expenses.
Download TripLog on iOS and Android today and start tracking unlimited miles absolutely free!
