Helping you “give the gift of Lyft” is the ride-hailing company’s latest marketing play.
On Tuesday, Lyft said it will make available $20 gift cards in “thousands” of participating Starbucks stores across the U.S, and each card will also come with a $5 Starbucks gift card. The new cards are an extension of a partnership the two companies unveiled last summer, and the first time Lyft is providing a way for people to purchase Lyft credits on behalf of another customer.
“We’ve heard from Lyft passengers that they actually would love to give the gift of Lyft to other people,” Lyft VP of partnerships Oliver Hsiang told Coins2Day, adding that some customers have also said they’d prefer to only use gift cards for such services, instead of linking their credit cards to their accounts.
At the moment, Lyft only lets customers pay via credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Android Pay.
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For the ride-hailing company, having gift cards prominently displayed in thousands of Starbucks stores is a valuable opportunity, said Hsiang. Along with potentially bringing in new customers to Lyft, the company hopes that existing ones who regularly stop by their local Starbucks will be enticed to pick up gift cards, especially since they come with the added $5 gift from Starbucks.
“Starbucks was the most visited coffee shop among Lyft riders last year,” said Hsiang. “So there’s a natural pairing between Lyft and Starbucks.”
The two companies first announced their partnership last summer, when they said would eventually let Lyft customers earn My Starbucks Rewards loyalty points and use them to make purchases at Starbucks stores. Now, this program is finally rolling out, and is valid for rides taken in the morning. At the time, the companies also said passengers would eventually be able to tip drivers with Starbucks loyalty points, and that they would explore ways for Lyft to help Starbucks employees get to work. They have since declined to share more details.
Asked if Lyft has plans to make its gift cards available outside of the Starbucks chain, Hsiang said the company has “nothing to share at the moment,” though it wouldn’t be surprising to see this happening. Grocery stores and other mass retailers where other gift cards are sold seem like a natural fit.
Meanwhile, rival Uber has been forging its own partnerships with large brands like <a href="https://coins2day.com/2016/06/15/capital-one-uber/">Capital One</a> and Starwood Hotels.