I’m heading to the states in October and I’m planning on using apps like Lyft and Uber to get around via taxi when needed in order to save money. I’ve looked at several cab fare estimations and it looks like Uber & Lyft are waaaaay cheaper.
I’ve read here that Lyft automatically charge the card $15 then refund the money if the fare is less or charge further is the fare is more. Ideally I want to avoid anything like this as I want to try and keep my monzo card usage as clean as possible. I dont want payments going out then having to check everyday for my refund and get loads of notifications inbetween.
I haven’t used Uber with Monzo in the US I’m afraid but I’ve used it in Singapore & there wasn’t any funny business, it worked exactly the same way as it does in the UK, for my Monzo payments.
I’ll be visiting next week so I might be able to test it out & let you know
Every time I try I tried to use Uber and Monzo it failed, not tried here at home. Lyft worked seamlessly though, and I thought (especially in San Fran) they were quicker to arrive.
Oh and maybe some promo codes for Lyft if you’re a new customer
Just to add some context to Tom’s comment, some users do have issues connecting Monzo to their Uber account so it sounds like that could be the problem, rather than Monzo x Uber x the US.
I’d recommend doing a test run in the UK before relying on it for the US, if that’s the route you decide to take.
Did it fail when you were making the booking on the app? I registered my card on the app and I got the notification for the active card check…I take it it could still fail??
I was in New York back in February and used Uber + Monzo multiple times with no issues. Having a look back through my feed it appears I was charged a $5 authorisation fee when I booked the first Uber and was refunded pretty much immediately. I then had no issues at all with the payment for the trips being authorised.
Soo, we see our fair share of issues with ridesharing apps coming through to support - which we’re always delighted to help with
The most common one, which is definitely the case with Uber in the US, and I believe the same with Lyft too, is that they charge your card at the start of the ride. This tends not to make a difference, but if you split the fare with someone else, it can sometimes cause a bit of confusion. It also means that a few days after the ride, when the charge ‘finalises’ from the merchant’s side, you may see the amount, increase or reduce.
However, most customers are able to use ride sharing abroad, without issue, all while getting our fantastic exchange rates
The failure with Uber for me, both in December in New York, and two weeks ago in San Fran both failed on requesting a ride. I also removed Monzo as a payment method and added again, same issue. Switching to my credit card, it succeeded.
Never had an issue with Lyft though, apart from the tips I opted to leave only worked once out of three or four times.
I was in SF/LA in February and used Lyft most of the time. I didn’t notice them charging a $15 authorisation and then reverse it if was less. If that happens it would be a fairly recent development.
Hi I used monzo for two weeks in Los Angeles in January to February. Using Uber several times without any issues. Was accepted in most places. The odd cash machine didn’t register as they didn’t accept prepaid cards but 99% of the time I had no issues with Uber, Lyft(without any extra charge…but overall Uber was cheaper). It registers easy. I also took a long a three simcard and made use of feel at home and signal was very good everywhere too
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