When booking a cab, I usually choose Uber because I find it offers several advantages over its domestic competitor OLA, such as:
- Lower fares compared to OLA (based on multiple experiences)
- Faster customer support (with OLA I’ve had to escalate issues)
- Better international availability (saved a lot on trips abroad)
- Strong global brand presence
- Higher rewards on certain cards (for example, 10X rewards with Diners cards)
That said, Uber isn’t available everywhere, so OLA often serves as a reliable backup. Recently, OLA launched an attractive partnership with Visa, a promotion I took full advantage of.
OLA Visa Offer
The offer has been available for some time, so some readers may already know about it. This is a quick reminder in case you missed it.
OLA Visa Offer: Get Rs.75 off on each of 3 OLA rides
Terms and Conditions
- Maximum cashback per OLA ride is Rs.75.
- Maximum total cashback is Rs.225 for 3 OLA rides.
- Cashback will be credited to the user’s Ola Money account within 1 business day.
- If a ride fare is less than Rs.75, cashback will be the entire fare amount (excluding taxes).
- Offer valid only on 3 OLA rides paid with a Visa card per user.
- Offer can be used on multiple cards per user, but the overall offer is limited to three rides per user.
- All three rides must be completed within 30 days of the first ride.
- No coupon code is required to avail the offer.
- This offer cannot be combined with other OLA Cabs offers.
- Cashback is credited to Ola Money only after payment for the ride is completed.
- Cashback applies only to Micro, Mini, Prime and Lux categories.
- Validity: 11th February 2017 to 30th April 2017.
I was on a short trip to Chennai and this offer proved very useful. I completed all three rides and received the full cashback. To get the benefit, select your Visa card as the payment option and pay directly. After payment and 3D Secure authentication, the cashback appears in Ola Money within minutes. Here’s how my cost broke down:
- Total paid for 3 rides: Rs.336
- Cashback received: Rs.225
- Effective cost: Rs.111 for 3 rides = Rs.37 per ride
Cashback to OLA money
I don’t usually chase small cashbacks, but this one was worth the effort—Rs.37 per ride is a great deal for roughly 5 km trips in Chennai’s heat. The process is straightforward and doesn’t require complex steps. If you travel frequently, other promotions such as 20% off with Uber on certain Standard Chartered credit cards may also be worth exploring for additional savings.
Have you used the Visa-OLA offer? Share your experience in the comments below.