The Uber Plus Card is a prepaid debit card that Uber Eats delivery drivers can use for orders that are not already prepaid.
For a long time, what differentiated Uber Eats from other food delivery apps was that they didn’t give drivers a prepaid debit card. Instead, Uber Eats only did prepaid orders. That was good if you were an Uber Eats driver because it meant you never had to waste time placing an order or paying for it yourself.
A few years ago, Uber Eats added an option for non-prepaid orders. At first, this was primarily limited to restaurants that weren’t prepaid for some reason. Later, Uber Eats added convenience and grocery store orders, where drivers could shop and pay for customer orders.
In this post, we’ll look at what the Uber Plus Card is and go over more details on how it works and whether it’s worth using.
What Is The Uber Plus Card?
The Uber Plus Card is a prepaid debit card that Uber Eats issues to drivers that request it. With the Uber Plus Card, drivers can pay for orders that aren’t prepaid.
If you’re a driver, this gives you access to more deliveries that you otherwise wouldn’t get if you didn’t have the Uber Plus Card. For customers, it means you can order from more places that otherwise might not be available to order from.
How Does The Uber Plus Card Work?
When you get an order that isn’t prepaid, Uber will fund your Uber Plus Card with enough money to pay for the order. When you get to the restaurant, you simply pay for the order using the card, then deliver the order to the customer.
In addition to orders where you simply pay for the order with the card, you may also get orders where you have to place the order yourself. In general, I avoid those types of orders unless there’s a compelling reason for me to accept them (i.e. the customer tipped a lot to make it worth my time).
Finally, the Uber Plus Card can also be used on grocery store or convenience store orders. These are orders where you’ll go to the store, shop for the items that the customer ordered, then pay for the order using the card. The most common places where I’ll see these types of orders are Walgreens or similar convenience stores.
If you’re swiping the card at the payment terminal, you’ll want to make sure you select credit if you’re prompted to select debit or credit. Even though it’s technically a prepaid debit card, you have to select credit for the card to work (it’s because of the way the card is loaded by Uber).
How Do You Get The Uber Plus Card?
To get the Uber Plus Card, you’ll need to request it in the Uber Eats driver app. If you haven’t requested it yet, there should be a large button in the app prompting you to get the card. It doesn’t cost anything and won’t impact your delivery status, so I recommend requesting it just to have it in your pocket.
If you ever lose the card or need to replace it, go to the account section of the Uber Eats driver app, then click the section for Plus Card.
From there, you’ll get to a screen that will allow you to order a replacement card.
Again, you don’t need the Plus Card to do deliveries with Uber Eats, but I recommend always having it just so you can get more orders and decide if a non-prepaid order is worth it for you.
Uber Plus Card Pros And Cons
Getting the Uber Plus card is what you should do. There’s no downside to getting the card. That being said, there are pros and cons to using the card to pay for orders. Here are what I think are the pros and cons of it.
Pros:
You’ll Get Access To More Deliveries. If you don’t have an active Uber Plus Card, you won’t receive delivery requests that require you to pay with the card. That means you’ll get fewer requests than if you had the card.
Uber Eats always makes it clear if a delivery request requires the Plus Card. You’re free to accept or reject any orders that you want, so if you see an order that requires the Plus Card, you can decide whether to accept it or not.
Some Order And Pay Deliveries Are Very High Paying. In my experience, a lot of convenience store orders seem to pay a lot. I believe Uber Eats tends to give drivers a higher base pay for these orders and customers seem to realize that high tips are necessary for these orders.
If you’re strategic and accept orders that aren’t too difficult to shop for, it can be very lucrative.
Cons:
It Takes More Time To Use The Plus Card. One of the biggest cons of the Plus Card is that you have to pay for the order and potentially shop for the order too. This takes time and makes these orders take longer to complete. If you’re shopping and an item is out, you’ll have to talk to the customer too, which can take even longer (especially if the customer isn’t responsive).
The longer it takes for you to complete an order, the less you’re earning. So, if you’re accepting an order that requires the Uber Plus Card, make sure that it’s paying enough for the extra time it’ll take you to complete it.
Is The Uber Plus Card Worth It?
In my opinion, it’s worth it to sign up for the Uber Plus Card simply to give yourself the option to accept orders that use the card. It doesn’t cost anything to get the card and even if you lose it, you can simply request a new one.
Just be aware that orders that use the Plus Card will likely take longer to complete, so keep that in mind when deciding if the payout is worthwhile.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
I need ri replacement my Uber Plus card in order to provide pick up orders and deliveries.
Does anyone know if the prop 22 guaranteed pay applies to time spent shopping for Shop and Pay. I just accepted a large grocery job that paid $24 but took me 2.5 hours. The prop 22 minimum guarantee is 18/hr or $45 in this case. Anyone know if Uber Eats supplements the $21 difference?