Uber gift cards can be used to pay for Australian Uber rides and Uber Eats orders. You can even use them to pay for purchases you made up to 30 days ago by switching the payment method on past rides and orders.
There is no difference between a regular Uber gift card and an Uber Eats gift card – both can be used for either purpose.
Summary
You can:
- Use Uber gift cards to pay for both rides and orders
- Pay for an Uber One subscription with your gift card balance
- Switch the payment on past purchases to use your Uber gift cards
- Regularly get discounts on Uber gift cards
You can’t:
- Use Uber gift cards outside of Australia
How to use Uber gift cards
To redeem an Uber gift card, open either the Uber app or Uber Eats app and go to the Account tab. Next, select Wallet and then tap Redeem Gift Card. This will add the gift card to your Uber account balance which can then be applied towards your purchases in both the Uber and Uber Eats apps.
You can load up to $5,000 worth of gift cards onto your Uber account. Your gift card balance will automatically be applied to future orders and rides you make, although you are given the option of not using your balance when making a purchase.
If you have an Uber-compatible Ultimate or TCN multi-retailer gift card, you will first need to swap it for one of Uber’s own gift cards. This can be done using the exchange facilities on the Ultimate or TCN websites.
Note that Australian Uber gift cards cannot be used to pay for rides and orders outside of Australia.
Switch payment hack
A unique feature of Uber’s payment system is that it allows you to change the payment method on purchases you made up to 30 days ago. This means you can buy Uber gift cards when they’re on sale and use them retroactively.
After you’ve added your Uber gift cards to your account, open up the Uber app or Uber Eats app and go to the ride or order you previously made. Select the receipt for that ride or order and then scroll down to where it says Switch Payment Method.
Provided you have enough in your gift card balance to cover the total purchase, you should then be given the option to switch the payment method to use Uber Cash. Your original payment method (e.g. credit card, PayPal etc) will then be refunded.
Note that there have been reports that switching the payment is not possible for rides and orders paid for with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Denominations
Physical Uber gift cards have been observed in $50 and $20-500 variable load denominations. Digital Uber gift cards are available in a wide variety of denominations with some stores allowing you to spend as little as $5 or as much as $500 on a single Uber card.
Expiry
Uber & Uber Eats gift cards expire three years after purchase. However, once added to your Uber account the gift card balance has no expiry date.
Promotions
Promotions on Uber gift cards and multi-retailer gift cards that can be exchanged for Uber gift cards are very common. The most common discounts on Uber’s own gift cards are 10% off, 10% cashback or 20x rewards points per dollar spent.
More generous offers are rare but not unheard of. Examples include 15% cashback on ShopBack in March 2024, 30x Flybuys points at Coles in September 2023 and 20% off on GiftCards.com.au in August 2022.
The Ultimate and TCN multi-retailer gift cards that can be swapped for Uber’s own gift cards are also commonly included in promotions (usually 10% off or 20x points) so those offers are also worth keeping an eye out for.
