Uber Adds AirPlus as Payment Option

Uber now is accepting AirPlus Company Accounts as a form of payment, the company announced.

AirPlus is integrating with Uber Wallet—the first UATP issuer to do so—which will enable travelers to pay for Uber rides via the accounts, and companies will receive bundled billing and reporting on the rides, according to AirPlus International CEO Oliver Wagner. Companies can pay for other Uber offerings through AirPlus accounts as well, including meal orders and other deliveries. The UATP network will settle the billing.

The collaboration provides a “frictionless experience for both the business traveler and for travel managers or HR professionals on the back end,” Uber for Business global head Susan Anderson said in a statement. “From booking all the way through to payment and reconciliation, we are enabling businesses to streamline the management of travel logistics quickly and efficiently across their entire organization.”

The first customers for the collaboration already are using AirPlus for payment in the United States and the Eurozone, a spokesperson confirmed. The next geographies for acceptance will be Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and acceptance will expand to globally “throughout the coming months,” according to UATP president and CEO Ralph Kaiser.

Uber is the first rideshare network to join the UATP network, according to the companies.

Michael B. Baker  www.businesstravelnews.com