The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, issued by American Express, has long been the darling of the miles-and-points set. But with the pending merger of Starwood with Marriott, the card’s future is in doubt.
27.07.2023 - 18:53 / smartertravel.com / Tim Winship
Since the rideshare service’s beginning, Uber has featured its drivers as a key element in its self-promotion. From the company’s website:
As are those 1 million driving jobs, that driver-centric marketing meme is destined for the scrapheap of history. And sooner than you might think.
Related:Senators Call Out Airlines for Flight DisruptionsAs reported in Bloomberg, Uber is hellbent on bringing driverless cars to the world’s byways and highways in the next five years. In addition to its own Advanced Technologies Center, whose primary focus is autonomous cars, Uber in July acquired Otto, a tech company formed to develop self-driving trucks. And Uber has a $300 million deal with Volvo to deliver a self-driving car by 2021.
The first fruits of these extensive design and engineering efforts will appear on the streets of Pittsburgh later this month, when riders will be ferried to their destinations in self-driving Volvo XC90 SUVs. For the time being, the driving will be “supervised” by a human sitting in the driver’s seat.
In a blog post on Uber’s website, company CEO Travis Kalanick makes the safety case for driverless cars, pointing out that 90 percent of the 1 million annual traffic fatalities are due to human error. “This is a tragedy that self-driving technology can help solve.”
That’s just one aspect, however, of a much more expansive vision, in which autonomous cars drive down the cost of local transportation so low that car ownership drastically declines. And everything that implies.
In the future, there will be no drivers, only riders.
Reader Reality Check
Are you ready for driverless cars?
More from SmarterTravel: The Best U.S. Mileage Program, and the Worst Hey Big Spender, Redeem Those Travel-Rewards Points Now! How NOT to Survive an Airline CrashAfter 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
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The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, issued by American Express, has long been the darling of the miles-and-points set. But with the pending merger of Starwood with Marriott, the card’s future is in doubt.
Today’s announcement that Southwest has a new marketing relationship with a rideshare company was no surprise. As rideshare services have become an ever-larger part of the travel landscape, such tie-ups have proliferated. It won’t be long before every airline and hotel loyalty program has a rideshare company on its roster of points-earning partners.
While its success is based principally on attractive pricing and ease of use, Uber’s business model critically depends on a ready supply of available and motivated workers. While there’s no sign that the supply of potential drivers is drying up, yet, the enthusiasm of Uber drivers seems to be eroding.
To the list of hotels that offer discounted rates to members of their loyalty programs—Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, InterContinental, Choice—can now be added the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites).
In a big win for Uber, the ride-sharing service today announced a new partnership with American, the world’s largest airline. “The companies will work together to provide customers faster service, better airport navigation, rider promotions and mileage promotions.”
Given the choice, which reward would you choose for your next hotel stay: loyalty points or cash back?
There’s a storm brewing in the rarefied air occupied by the priciest of the travel-rewards cards.
A key selling point of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft is their transparency. Users know where their ride is, how soon it will arrive to pick them up, and how much the fare will be to their destination.
What’s better than an Uber ride? A cheaper Uber ride, naturally!
Spirit Airlines waived fees.
With almost 1,400 hotels in operation or under development, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group isn’t the largest of the hotel chains. But with six brands in more than 100 countries, it’s big enough to accommodate the needs of most travelers. That makes its Club Carlson loyalty program a contender.
Beginning earlier this month, some Uber customers in Pittsburgh have been treated to a preview of what many expect to be the future of ridesharing. Fourteen self-driving Ford Fusions began ferrying riders within a 12-square-mile section of the city’s downtown.