If there’s any industry that’s grown during the pandemic, it has to be delivery services. Anecdotally, last year marked the first time I began ordering delivery with any real frequency — especially relying on them in March and April when leaving the house felt like a major chore. Since then, I’ve moved mostly to the pick-up side of things in a bid to make the most of the Uber credits I get from my Amex Platinum and Gold cards. On that note, following Uber’s completed acquisition of Postmates in December, users can now link their accounts between the two apps.
Let me start by acknowledging that this development has proven controversial. Looking at Twitter, I see plenty of complaints about everything from higher fees to a more cluttered app design (apparently the Postmates app was easier to use than Uber Eats in the minds of many). Obviously such things can be frustrating, but I actually didn’t have a ton of exposer to Postmates beforehand so it’s hard for me to give a first-hand account of these changes. In fact, I only downloaded the Postmates app a couple of weeks ago because the last time I checked was a few years ago and the service was not yet available in my area.
Turning to my experience, the addition of Postmates to the Uber Eats family is seemingly positive for me. That’s because, since linking my account, I can now use my aforementioned Uber credits on the Postmates app. Similarly, the Eats Pass I also earned thanks to an Amex promotion is valid as well.
On the other hand, this change may not be as impactful as I thought. That’s because, while I previously noted restaurants on Postmates that weren’t on Uber Eats, it seems that both have been updated with identical line-ups (at least in my area and as far as I can tell). In other words, while it’s nice that I can use my Uber credits on Postmates, I could just as easily order on the Uber Eats app.
There is one possible exception though and that involves coupons. For the time being at least, it appears as though the two apps retain separate promo codes and the like. For example, this morning I got an email from Wendy’s noting that I could get one of their new Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburgers for free when I spent a minimum of $15 and used the code ‘BOURBON’ on Postmates. Trying this code in the Uber Eats app resulted in the error message “Oops, you’re not eligible for this promotion” while it worked like a charm on Postmates (not that I actually bothered ordering it). I suppose other promotions and coupon codes could dictate which app I end up using, in which case it’s nice to have my Uber Cash available on both. Elsewhere, I’m also curious if Postmates orders will yield Marriott Bonvoy points as Uber and Uber Eats orders now do.
Obviously there are some pros and cons to this latest delivery app consolidation. Still, I’m not sure how many casual users will even really notice — although some Postmates users might be confused when the app says their Uber Eats driver is on the way. What’s more, it will be interesting to see what other changes come to these apps with Uber’s recently-announced partnership with Gopuff and when the company’s purchase of Drizly is complete. For now, I’m actually looking forward to hopefully having more options for cashing in my credits, but we’ll need to wait and see whether a larger Uber means a worse experience for users.